Beet Salad With Almonds And Chives Recipes

BEET SALAD WITH ALMOND BUTTER AND GORGONZOLA BOMBOLONI

Steps:

• Grind almonds to a paste with garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and cayenne in a food processor. With motor running, add just enough oil to make a silky paste. Season with salt.
• Simmer beets in 3 inches of water in a large saucepan, covered, until tender, about 30 minutes. Cool in liquid, uncovered, about 30 minutes, then peel and cut into 1/2-inch wedges.
• Whisk together vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl, then whisk in oil. Add shallot and chives and toss with beets.
• Divide almond butter among 6 plates and top with beet salad. Put a bombolone on each salad and sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Serve remaining bomboloni on the side.

ROASTED BEET SALAD WITH PEARS AND MARCONA ALMONDS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Place the beets on a sheet tray and roast until fork tender, about an hour. Remove and let cool.
• Using a paring knife, peel the beets. Grate the beets and the pears on the largest holes of a box grater. Toss them with the balsamic, olive oil and salt.
• Divide the arugula between 4 salad plates, spoon some of the beet-pear mixture onto the arugula and top with the chopped almonds and chives. Serve immediately.

BEET SALAD WITH BOMBOLINO

Steps:

• For the starter: Heat the milk up slightly so that it is just warm to the touch and pour into a bowl.
• Dissolve the yeast in the milk and then mix in the flour. The dough will be quite thick.
• Cover the bowl with plastic and let it sit in at room temperature for about an hour.
• For the dough: Scrape the starter dough in the bowl of a mixer.
• Add the eggs, butter, sugar, salt and flour and mix with your hands or spatula until the ingredients are loosely incorporated. This is messy and again the dough will be rather thick.
• Mix on low with the paddle attachment until the dough is silky and shiny. This will take at least 5 to 7 minutes and you will need to scrape down the bowl several times at first.
• Scrape the dough off the paddle attachment and form into a rough ball inside the mixer bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic and let sit for an hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
• Punch down the dough.
• For the bombolino: With slightly floured fingers, using about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the dough, flatten the dough into a small disk about 1/4-inch thick.
• Place about 1 teaspoon of the cheese in the center and wrap the dough around the cheese. Pinch the dough together so that it sticks together and then roll the dough into a small ball. It is very important to make sure the dough is seamless, so that when it cooks no melted cheese escapes. Repeat until you have as many bombolino as you have salads. You will have excess dough.
• Heat a deep-fryer to 350 degrees F, or heat up 2 inches of oil in a high-sided heavy-bottomed pan. Make sure the oil does not come up past the half way point of the pan.
• Frying bombolino, only a few at a time for about 2 to 4 minutes, until golden brown all the way around. You might have to turn them over as they do tend to float.
• Drain on a paper towel and eat while warm.
• For the almond butter: Place almonds and garlic in a food processor and puree until smooth, scrape down the sides of the processor as necessary. Add 1 teaspoon of the oil as needed. Be very careful about how much oil to add as the almonds will get smoother the more they are processed. Use only as much as needed to achieve a smooth but thick almond paste.
• Season with cayenne pepper and salt, to taste.
• Place in a container. Will last refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reseason as needed.
• For the beet salad: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Trim tops and tails of beets and wash.
• Place in roasting pan and add enough water to pan so that it reaches half up the side of the beets. Cover with aluminum foil and place in preheated oven. Check doneness after about 45 minutes. If a pairing knife is able to penetrate the beet very easily, the beets are cooked. Check a few to make sure. If they not ready, recover with foil and place back in oven. Check in 15 minute increments.
• Remove from oven and remove foil. Let them sit until they reach room temperature. Do not discard the water.
• Using a kitchen towel (that you are not afraid to get really messy), peel the skin off the beets. The skin should wipe off very easily. To get off any little pieces of skin you might have missed, rinse in the water they were cooked in. Once all the beets are peeled, discard skins and the water they were cooked in.
• Cut beets in quarters or thirds, depending on their size and your preference.
• Mix gingerly with shallots, chives, oil and vinegar.
• To plate: Smooth about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the almond butter on the plate. Place about 1/2 cup of the beet salad onto the almond butter. Place a freshly fried bombolino on top of the beets and season with a touch of fleur de sel.

BEET SOUP WITH TARRAGON, CHIVES AND YOGURT

Steps:

• Put olive oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot or deep, wide skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cook slowly, stirring, until softened, about 10 minutes.
• Add beets and season generously with salt and pepper. Add a pinch of cayenne and pour in vinegar. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add water and raise heat to a brisk simmer. Taste broth and adjust. Cook for another 10 minutes, until beets are completely soft.
• Purée in a blender, in batches if necessary, and strain through a fine-mesh sieve. (Consistency should be like heavy cream, no thicker - thin with water or broth as necessary). Return puréed soup to pot and reheat. In a small bowl, combine yogurt with tarragon and chives. Add a good pinch of salt and beat with a fork to loosen yogurt.
• Taste soup, and adjust for salt and vinegar. Ladle into individual bowls. Swirl a large (2 to 3 tablespoons) spoonful of herbed yogurt across the surface of the soup.

ROASTED BEET AND ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• The Beets: Wash and dry the beets well. Rub them with the 1 1/2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Place them in a baking pan with 1 ounce of water. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 40 minutes to 1 hour & 15 minutes or until they are fork tender. Allow the beets to cool. Peel off the outer skin and small dice. This should yield about 3 cups. Place the diced beets, blood orange oil and cilantro in a bowl and toss. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper. Reserve in the refrigerator.
• The Asparagus: While the beets are roasting, blanch the asparagus in salted boiling water for about 3 minutes until it is tender and bright green.
• Shock the asparagus in ice water for about 3-5 minutes or until it is cold throughout . Dry the asparagus and chop it into a small dice. This should yield about 3 cups. Reserve in the refrigerator.
• The Dijon Vinaigrette: While the beets are roasting or a couple of days in advance, combine the egg yolk, Dijon, and vinegar in a bowl. With a wire wisk, mix the ingredients well. Slowly in a steady stream, drizzle in the oil to form and emulsion. Add the parsley, chives and shallots. Mix well and season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper. Reserve in the refrigerator.
• The Moroccan Spice & Almonds: While the beets are roasting, or 1 day before, remove the zest from 1 orange and place in a small oven proof container in the oven to dry out, watching constantly as not to burn it.
• Once the zest is dry allow it to cool. In a coffee grinder, add the cardamom, broken cinnamon stick, allspice & cloves and grind until fine.
• Pour the spices into a small bowl. Grind the dry orange rind in the same fashion and add it to the other spices. Add the sugar and salt and mix well with a fork. Reserve in an airtight container.
• Toast the almonds in a dry saute pan over medium heat on the stove until lightly golden brown. Drizzle the 1 Tablespoon of oil on the almonds and continue to toast for another 30 seconds. Pull the almonds off the heat and pour them evenly onto a cookie sheet. Sprinkle the almonds with about 1 - 1 1/2 Tablespoons of the Moroccan spice and continue to toast in the oven for approximately 1 - 2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Reserve.
• To Build the Dish: Remove the beets, asparagus, vinaigrette & cheese from the refrigerator 1/2 an hour before serving. Add about 2 - 3 ounces of the Dijon vinaigrette to the asparagus and toss well. Season to taste with salt & pepper. In a round mold or free style, divide the asparagus onto the center of 6 plates. Add a layer of the dressed asparagus on top of the beets. (If you are using a mold, you will need to layer the beets and then the asparagus onto one plate before removing the mold and repeating onto the second plate and so forth.) Toss the field greens in some of the blood orange oil and place some of them onto the asparagus. Place 1 piece of Maytag blue cheese on top of the greens. Sprinkle each plate with the almonds. Garnish each plate with drizzles of Dijon vinaigrette, blood orange oil and chopped chives.

BEET SALAD WITH ALMONDS AND CHIVES

Steps:

• Place beets in a medium pot and cover with water. Cover, bring to a boil, and cook 15 to 25 minutes, until a beet is easily pierced with a fork. Drain, let cool, and use a paring knife and fingers to slide off skins.
• Cut beets into bite-sized pieces and place in a large salad bowl. Add almonds, olive oil, chives, lemon juice and salt, and toss gently. Sprinkle with feta, lay whole chives across salad as garnish, and serve.