Beet it

It was recently revealed that President Obama doesn’t care for beets. Sally thinks she could convince him otherwise with this recipe.

Here is one Obama will love!

I’ve fed this to a number of die-hard beet haters and have universally gotten this response, “I’ve never liked beets, but these are delicious!”

So beet your heart out Obama and try these.

I particularly like this presentment of beets because the earthy beet-carrot flavors are retained, while the slightly hot flavor of the ginger and pepper together with the citrus lend an exotic twist to the these earthy flavors. It’s also an incredibly lovely dish to look at. What more can you ask for?

I developed this twist on orange-glazed beets after dreaming about it. My dreams are more often awash with the flavors and colors of food, and what more to suit this dream world than the beet? It is a particular obsession for reasons unknown; I could expound on its virtues for pages, but will keep myself in check.

Red Beet Roots with

Carrots, Orange and Ginger

• Blanch 5 small red beets in a generous amount of water with 1/2 cup kosher salt (yes!, 1/2 cup!) and 1/2 cup lemon juice until your are able to stick a fork into them about 1/2 inch. The combination of kosher salt and lemon juice preserves both the flavor and color integrity of the beet.

• Remove from heat and slip the skins. They slip easily while hot. Wear rubber gloves unless you want to burn your hands and have then have them died beet red for several days.

• Cut beets into quarters and place in a small oven dish.

Add

• 4 small carrots, peeled and chunked.

• The zest of 3 large oranges

• Juice the now stripped oranges and add juice to oven dish.

• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger root, peeled and minced fine

• 1/2 fresh vanilla bean, wounded

• 8 whole green peppercorns, wounded

• 1/4 cup raw honey

Bake, uncovered, stirring occasionally, in oven at 350 degrees until beets and carrots are tender to the fork, but still firm – perhaps 1/2 hour. The orange sauce should be fairly thick at this point and the beets and carrots close to the same color. Once out of the oven, remove vanilla bean. If the sauce is not thickened, but the vegetables are done, place all ingredients in a sauce pan and cook sauce down slightly. This should not overcook the root crops, but should thicken the sauce.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Yum, yum with game hens or halibut.