As the summer weather shines on, we want to share a recipe of one of our favorite summer vegetables, the beet. If you are at the produce section or your local farmer’s market, look for beets that are firm and have smooth roots without splits. Try to find beets with the greens still attached, they are the freshest. This easy-to-make recipe is courtesy of Inoteca and found in the 86 Recipes New York Edition.

Salt-Roasted Beets with Orange, Mint, Pecorino and Hazelnuts

4 Servings

Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:
4 large red beets, tops cut off and washed
Salt
1 cup hazelnuts
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 large navel oranges, peeled and segmented
Mint leaves
Pecorino cheese (preferably a young one), shaved
Hazelnut oil (for garnish)

Instructions:
1. Place beets top side down in a bed of salt on a baking sheet and roast at 400° F until a knife will go in and out easily (approx 40 mins).
2. Place the hazelnuts in a sauté pan and cover with olive oil. Sauté on low heat until nuts are golden brown.
Set aside and cool.
3. Peel beets and cut into segments (6-8 apiece depending on size).

Presentation:
1. Arrange beets on bottom of plate. Top with orange segments, mint leaves and pecorino cheese.
2. Finish with roasted hazelnuts and as much of the hazelnut oil as desired.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 at 1:40 pm and is filed under Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.