Beet it

I always find it odd that as a kid I hated all vegetables.

Garden of Eating

 Every single one of them starting with peas and every other type you can harvest from memory. Maybe the random carrot or string bean found its way on my plate but I just didn't like them.  My daughter's were never big vegetable eaters. I think we would applaud if Sarah would taste a piece of broccoli or Fanny would waive at an asparagus I was always so impressed that my sister's kids, (Jaime and Garret) when they were little would eat any and all leafy green, red, blue or yellow vegetable my sister put on their plate. But as for me, I lived in a no veggie zone for a long time. The irony to all of this is that today I love well-prepared vegetables seasoned or sauteed to perfection.

The only exception in my veggie wasteland was beets. Maybe it was the sugar and sweetness-or the odd taste and texture but I only ate beets. So I guess it is no surprise that I'm part of the beet generation who can't get enough of this bountiful veggie. I love beet borscht which is a recipe I will share in a future post. I love pickled beets and some form of beet seems to find their way into my salad about once a week.

Recently I found some wonderful golden organic beets at Whole Foods this week. They were less expensive than classic red beets since it was prime beet season. So I packed them in my cart and started to think about salads.

Golden beauties from The Beet Generation 

To help pull out the full flavor my favorite method for preparation is to wash the beets, cut off the leaves and ends and dry them out on a paper towel. Then get some aluminum foil and drizzle some EVOO on and around the beets along with a sprig of fresh rosemary, some slice of fresh ginger root and a sprinkle of kosher salt. Seal the aluminum foil and put it into a preheated oven at 350 for degrees for one hour. (If you don't have fresh ginger root, don't bother substituting powder- it isn't the same).

Golden beets, ginger, rosemary, EVOO and kosher salt

When the beets cool, use a potato peeler to remove the skin. You can also use a sharp paring knife.

Peel the skin, let them cool

For this meal, I have taken arugula, watermelon and black mission figs. First place the washed arugula in a bowl and arrange the golden beets, watermelon slides and black mission figs. Toss with EVOO and a splash of balsamic vinegar and place on the plates.

Mix arugula, golden beets, watermelon and black mission figs
with fresh basil. Dress and toss. Plate.

I had planned to sear a piece of Ahi tuna to top this since I thought the asian marinade idea I had would blend with the hint of ginger on the beets. Unfortunately the fishmonger wrapped the wrong fish in the wrong pack and I had some nice atlantic salmon. I marinaded the salmon in fresh squeezed orange juice, orange zest, EVOO, kosher salt and some grated garlic. I grilled the salmon and let the fish rest for a few minutes. I then placed it on top of the beet salad.

 I found a really nice light Spanish Pazo Serantellos Albarino white wine to compliment the meal. It was a 2010 so quite fruity, nicely acidic and had a wonderful pear taste. It was about $10 at Whole Foods.

Spanish Albarino 

Can't beet this.