French Peasant Beets Recipes

FRENCH "PEASANT" BEETS

Steps:

• 1. Scrub and peel the beets. Remove the greens, wash and dry them, and chop coarsely. Set the greens aside in a large prep bowl. Slice the beets into 1/4-inch rounds.
• 2. Remove the ribs from the Swiss chard and coarsely chop the ribs. Toss the leaves and ribs into the bowl with the beet greens.
• 3. In a large sauté pan, melt the butter and sauté the shallot over medium heat until softened.
• Add the beet rounds to the shallot-butter mixture. Toss in a pinch of salt and crack some pepper over the beets. Reduce the heat and sauté the beets, turning to ensure even cooking, until the beets are beginning to glaze and become tender, about 15 minutes.
• Add the beet greens, chard, and chard ribs and sauté for about 5 minutes, then add the wine and cover. Cook until the greens are wilted, adding 2 tablespoons water if necessary. Allow the liquid to be mostly absorbed into the greens. Adjust the seasonings.
• Scoop the greens and beets into a shallow bowl. Serve with a generous wedge of Bucheron and some crusty bread. Crack a little bit of pepper over the entire dish.
• Tips and Techniques
• To find the right cheese, Amy N‐B said: "Nice grocery stores (such as Wegmans and Whole Foods) usually have it, and any good cheese counter should have it. It can be spelled Boucheron, Bucherondin, or Boucherondin. All will do the trick."
• About the Cook
• Amy Nichols‐Belo is a cultural anthropologist from Richmond, Virginia.
• Her favorite entertaining tip: "When hosting an event where guests will be contributing dishes or beverages, provide a theme (tapas, sixties hors d'oeuvre, Latin) to avoid a meal that's more 'church basement potluck' than party."
• Here's her blog: Amy Cooks and Brad Does the Dishes (www.amycooksbraddoesthedishes.blogspot.com).
• What the Community Said
• deensiebat: "Made this last night and loved it. I had fallen into a rut of always making beets the same way-wedges parboiled, then roasted, greens reserved for later. Nice to have a new all‐in‐one method, with a sweet result."
• romanolikethecheese: "Droplets of good balsamic vinegar on top set this dish up from good to really good!!"

TOASTED PEASANT BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Put a sheet pan in the oven so that it gets good and hot.
• Place the bread slices on the hot sheet pan. Drizzle the bread with the extra-virgin olive oil bake for 5 minutes, until the bread is nicely toasted. Rub the bread slices with the garlic cloves, and discard garlic. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

GRANDMA'S HARVARD BEETS

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, vinegar and water. Bring to a boil, and cook for 5 minute. Add the beets to the liquid, and simmer for 30 minutes over low heat. Stir in butter, salt and pepper and remove from the heat. Serve warm or chilled.

FRENCH PEASANT SUPPER

Steps:

• Turn on the broiler.
• Heat the oil in an extra-deep 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
• Meanwhile, cut the pork chops into 1/2-inch cubes, adding them to the skillet as you cut.
• Slice the sausages into 1/4-inch circles, adding them as you cut.
• Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
• Peel and coarsely chop the onion, adding it to the skillet as you chop.
• Stir in the water, wine, ketchup, honey, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, black pepper, and cloves and cook until the pork cubes are no longer pink, about 4 minutes, stirring frequently.
• (Reduce the heat to medium if the pork seems about to burn.) Meanwhile, rinse and drain the beans and set aside.
• Spread the bread crumbs evenly on a cookie sheet and toast under the broiler until crisp and light brown; leave the oven door cracked and don't walk away- they brown quickly!
• (If you are really distracted, you can omit the bread crumbs and skip this step to prevent mishaps.) Set aside.
• Stir the beans into the pork mixture and simmer just long enough to mix well and heat through, about 2 minutes.
• Scatter the toasted crumbs on top and serve.

FRENCH PEASANT CHICKEN STEW

Steps:

• In 4-quart saucepan, mix all ingredients except peas and chicken.
• Heat to boiling over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover; simmer about 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
• Stir in peas and chicken. Cover; simmer about 5 minutes or until peas are tender.

FRENCH PEASANT BREAD

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast, sugar and salt in water.
• Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until blended. Do not knead -- it will be lumpy.
• Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hours
• Oil a cookie sheet with olive oil.
• Oil hands and remove dough from bowl and divide into 2 rounds and place on cookie sheet.
• Sprinkle dough with cornmeal(optional).
• Let rise 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees and brush dough with melted butter.
• Bake for 10 min then reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake an additional 15 minutes.
• When finished baking, brush again with melted butter.