A Mid-Summer Beet
Thursday, July 15, 2010 at 12:46AM 
It's the peak of summertime here in Alabama, so as you might imagine our meals have been filled with lots of prized summer vegetables like tomatoes, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, okra, and eggplant. We've taken to eating big tomato sandwiches for lunch, with handfuls of fresh basil and a slice of whatever cheese we have on hand. I've eaten so many peaches I'm starting to feel like Winfield in the Grapes of Wrath. But occasionally this summer, in the midst of all those tomatoes, we've been surprised to see a beet or two in our CSA share or at the farmer's market. Beets in July? I always thought that beets were strictly a fall and spring crop, but turns out they're in seasonal limbo, and are happy to steal some of the limelight away from all those traditional summer favorites. Though there are many ways to prepare beets, we found that for a summer dish, they are great raw, thinly sliced, with a little dressing - very refreshing, and more importantly, you don't have to turn the oven on to roast them! They also pair wonderfully with citrus and goat cheese. We prepared the following simple beet salad using the last of the season's escarole back in June.
Raw Beet Salad with Fresh Dill and Mustard Vinaigrette (modified from Farmer John's Cookbook)
4 medium beets, peeled, cut into strips
1/2 cup olive oil
3 T white wine vinegar
1 T finely chopped shallot
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 small clove garlic, minced or pressed
1-2 T fresh dill, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 bunch escarole (lettuce or arugula)
Combine olive oil, vinegar, shallot, mustard, and garlic in a large jar. With the lid tightly screwed on, shake the jar vigorously until the oil and vinegar are thickened. Pour the dressing over the cut beets and toss until well coated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the beet mixture to the refrigerator to marinate for at least 1 hour. Add the fresh dill and toss again. Serve over a bed of escarole.
Yesterday, we received some golden beets in our CSA share, so we'll be thinking of ways to prepare these! (right now I have my eye on this recipe).
Reader Comments (2)
Nice recipe! Beets seem to be having a pretty good week . . . also had an article/recipe on the NY Times app the other day http://nyti.ms/bgS5Dm
Yeah, I saw that recipe too!