About those beets ...

Given my introduction to this blog was via the beets and goat cheese, I feel compelled to post the recipe. It isn't really complicated, but does require some time and several independent steps, so I figured I'd wait until Friday. Think of it as a weekend project.

My first experience with beets and goat cheese was when I saw an episode of Wolfgang Puck's show where he made a napoleon of them. It looked tremendous. Then I went to his restaurant Spago and had it, and loved it. And when I go to Cafe Ponte, his beet and arugula salad -- with fried balls of goat cheese -- is my favorite thing on the menu. Well, one of my favorite things.

I've made Chef Puck's version and it's nice for a dinner party, but it's a little complicated for a crowd.
When I devised this a couple of weeks ago, it was for 50 people. So I had to take some of the fuss out of it. Easy dicing instead of precious stacking. One dressing. And the mousse isn't so much a mousse as a thinned down soft cheese.

Admittedly, it's a long recipe, but it isn't complicated. And at the party, five people told me that they never realized that they loved beets. I turned red.

Roasted beets and goat cheese mousse

for the beets:
3-4 large or 6-8 medium beets. red, golden or a combination. (red beets are available everywhere. I have found golden at the Wild Oats that seems to hope to one day be a Whole Foods on Dale Mabry.)
olive oil
salt

preheat oven to 400 degrees. trim stems and root end off beets. place on a sheet of aluminum foil. rub with oil, sprinkle with salt and wrap in the foil. (if using red AND gold beets, wrap the reds and the golds separately. otherwise, you're going to have all reds.) roast until you can easily pierce a beet with a skewer. depending on any number of factors, including size, variety, actual oven temperature and probably the day of the week, this can take anywhere from 45-90 minutes. when they're done, remove from oven and allow to cool. when cool enough to handle, pull skins off (good to wear rubber gloves if you've got them). the skins should come right off with gentle pressure, but you can use a peeler if necessary. chop the beets into about a 1/2-inch dice. again, if using red and gold beets, keep them separate.

for the vinaigrette
1 cup orange juice
1 shallot, chopped (or 1/2 a small red onion)
2 tbls honey
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

while the beets are roasting, put the juice, shallot and honey in a blender. with the blender running, slowly pour the olive oil in to emulsify. add salt and pepper to taste.

when the beets are chopped, put them in a zipper bag and add enough vinaigrette to dress them. put the bag in the refrigerator and let marinate for at least an hour, or as long as a few days. if we haven't mentioned it enough: if you are using red and gold, put them in separate bags.

for the mousse
6 oz goat cheese
3 oz cream cheese
3 oz plain yogurt
zest from the orange used to make the juice for the vinaigrette (optional)

bring the cheeses to room temperature. put everything in a bowl and mix with an electric mixer. unless you're really good with a whisk. refrigerate until ready to serve.

garnishes
a couple of tablespoons of toasted, chopped hazelnuts (other nuts would work -- maybe almonds -- but hazelnuts are classic.)
fresh arugula (optional)

to assemble
put the beets in a bowl. if you have red and gold, put the red in first and the gold on top. dollop the mousse on top, sprinkle with the nuts and arugula.

Serves 6 people who don't already know they love beets, or 4 that do.

Comments

[The Mouth]

Webster, you rock. I think Janet will feel a disturbance in the force, though. Somewhere out there, there's a food editor wondering how her blog has gotten all froufrou with talk of golden beets. She's got a reputation to uphold!

I'm making this this weekend, though, to go with another episode of obsessive meat smoking.

[Shirley J. Buttacavoli]

Now I need to find a reason to have some sort of party. Sounds different and fun.

Thanks for sharing.

[Janet]

Mouth, you hardly know me. I just bought a bunch of golden beets at the Pike Place Market in Seattle even though I've got no place to roast them. Unfortunately, the sun never shines here so the solar route is a no go.

Interesting produce is hardly frou-frou, it's just so difficult to find in Tampa Bay. Thank goodness for Wild Oats and Fresh Market, eh?

Thanks, Jim. The recipes are great.

[The Mouth]

Ah, we rustled up S. Crazy herself with our beetnick talk. She's probably out there right now eating fiddlehead ferns and braised ramps handpicked by some Jodo Shinshu Buddhism aspirant near Puget Sound.

[Amy]

Would it be too awful to use canned beets? (and please don't yell!) I was planning on having a "cold" dinner party this weekend.

[jim w.]

sure, you could use canned. it probably wouldn't be quite the same (like, your hands wouldn't get as messy), but it would still be good. just drain them well before you dress them with the vinaigrette. everything else would be the same.

and i just look intimidating. i never yell at anyone.

hope your party is awesome.

[Amy]

Jim,
Thanks for responding - I can't wait to try this recipe
Amy