Beet and coconut soup

What are your thoughts on eating hot soup in the summertime? I know some people stay away from soup when the weather gets hot, but I actually don't have a seasonal preference for soup. Frankly, I don't eat soup that often, no matter what season it is. I generally only make soup when I come across a recipe that I can't resist - this one is a perfect example. I found this recipe in The Accidental Vegetarian and tagged it immediately. I've had it in the back of my mind for weeks, but today was the first time that I had beets in the fridge and time to try a new recipe. This soup combines roasted beets with coconut milk, cumin, lemongrass, garlic, chiles, and ginger - I've never combined beets with those ingredients before, but the idea appealed to me right away. The beets work beautifully here, contributing a nice earthy note to the otherwise Asian-inspired soup. The beets also contribute their color, turning this soup a shocking magenta color, which is a little weird, but mostly awesome. In spite of the kooky color, the soup is actually quite elegant - the flavors blend well and if you go through the trouble of sieving the soup, the texture is silky smooth. It is spicy though, so reduce the chiles if you are sensitive to heat. I'm really glad I finally got to make this recipe. It's such a fun new way to use beets - definitely a soup worth trying in any season.

Beet pizza with arugula pesto and Gorgonzola cheese

For some reason, I've been seriously craving pizza lately. I made a classic tomato and mozzarella version last week, and wanted to experiment with something more interesting next. I had the idea to turn a classic beet salad into a pizza and decided to use Gorgonzola instead of the more common goat cheese (I love me some moldy cheese). I know I wanted to incorporate arugula, but didn't really just want to pile it up on top of the pizza. I mean, is there any good way to eat pizza with a huge pile of leaves on top without having them all fall off? I was also looking for a way to add moisture to the pizza and decided to kill two birds with one stone by making an arugula pesto to use as pizza sauce. I enjoyed the way the final pizza came out - the different components definitely worked well together to make a tasty pie. My pizza craving isn't gone though, and I've got more pizza dough in the freezer...so what toppings should I play with next??

Beet pizza with arugula pesto and Gorgonzola cheese

Makes a 16-inch pizza

Some tips: I like to form the pizza on a piece of parchment paper placed on the pizza peel. That way, the pizza and parchment slide easily into the oven. Also, if you don’t have a pizza stone, you can bake the pizza on a large baking pan.

This recipe makes more pesto than you'll need for the pizza. You can eat the leftovers with pasta or as a sandwich spread, and you can freeze it if you want to store it for a while.

1 lb. pizza dough (I used whole wheat), at room temperature
3 medium beets (about 20 oz.), scrubbed and stems trimmed to 1 inch
2 cups arugula leaves (packed)
⅓ cup walnuts
⅓ cup coarsely shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
½ cup Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled (you can also use any other type of blue cheese, or use goat cheese if you prefer)
4 tsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Put beets in a baking dish with enough water to cover the bottom of the dish to a depth of 1/8 inch and sprinkle with salt. Cover tightly with foil and bake the beets in the preheated oven until they can be easily pierced with a sharp knife, about 1 hour (this could take more or less time, depending on the size of the beets). Remove beets from the oven, uncover the pan, and cool the beets. Cut off their tops and roots and rub off the skins. Cut beets into ¼-inch slices.

If you have a pizza stone, place it on the bottom rack of the oven. Increase oven temperature to 500 deg F (or as high as your oven can go).

While beets are baking, combine arugula, walnuts, and cheese in the bowl of a food processor and process until coarsely chopped. Add olive oil and process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

When oven is heated to 500 deg F, stretch dough out to a 16-inch round on a pizza peel. Spread arugula pesto on dough and top with beet slices. Sprinkle cheese crumbles over the beets. Slide pizza onto the preheated stone and bake until crust is crisp, about 8-10 min. Remove pizza from oven and drizzle balsamic vinegar over the pizza. Let cool for a couple minutes, and serve.

Beet and chickpea salad

With the hot weather in Boston, we've been eating cold dinners more often. We usually do a green salad along with a more substantial salad that includes some protein. The other day, I was trying to come up with a main dish salad including beets that I could serve cold for dinner on a hot summer night. I thought chickpeas would work well with the beets and would help make the salad more filling. I like beets best roasted and tossed with vinegar, so I decided to stick with that idea. I got some inspiration from this recipe, and decided to add some cumin to the dressing. And with some chopped onion, parsley, and mint, the salad was complete.

I loved the way this salad came out. It was very flavorful and made a great light dinner. And the leftovers were even better at lunch the next day! 

Beet and chickpea salad
Serves 3 as a dinner portion

1 pound beets
1 can chickpeas (15.5 oz)
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup (packed) parsley leaves, chopped
2 tbs chopped mint leaves
Heaping 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 tbs sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Wash beets and trim stems to 1 inch. Place beets in a baking pan or oven safe dish, add enough water to cover the bottom, and cover the dish tightly (use aluminum foil if the dish doesn't have a cover). Roast beets in preheated oven until they can be pierced easily with the tip of a sharp knife. This could take 30-60 minutes or so, depending on the size of the beets. When beets are tender, remove them from the dish and cool.

When beets are cool enough to touch, slip off their peels. Cut beets into approximately 1-inch pieces. Place beets in a large bowl, and toss with onions and 1 tbs vinegar. Refrigerate until cool.

Stir cumin seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat until they are lightly toasted and turn a shade darker, about 2 minutes. Coarsely grind cumin seeds with a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Whisk cumin together with olive oil and remaining 1 tbs vinegar. Add chickpeas, parsley, and mint to the beets, and toss with dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste. Salad can be served immediately or refrigerated for 1-2 days before serving.

Beet and apple salad

This week's  Fall Fest theme is "fall salads". Andrew wanted something with beets, I wanted something with apples, and we both love arugula, so this recipe was perfect for us. The original recipe actually called for Asian pear, but I substituted a Honeycrisp apple, which was really good. The only thing I would change for next time is to cut the apples into larger pieces - the flavor got kind of lost with the small matchsticks. Looking forward to seeing everyone else's entries!

Marinated beets

I had never tasted a beet until last summer when I picked some up at the farmers' market on a whim, figuring that if I'm going to try this weird looking vegetable, I might as well start with a fresh, local specimen. Well...turns out that I love beets. I'll eat them hot, cold, plain, marinated, even grated raw in salad. But I've never ever eaten them out of season, because I'm afraid that the somewhat dull-looking ones at the supermarket just won't be up to par. I generally roast them using Alice Waters's recipe, and lately have been tossing them with sherry vinegar and olive oil. We've eaten them prepared like this as a side vegetable on their own, or put them in salads.

Marinated beets
Adapted from The Art of Simple Food, by Alice Waters

Trim the greens and stems to about 1 inch from 1 bunch beets (I usually get 4-5 beets per bunch - it's easiest if they are all about the same size. I like to use red beets because they're nice to look at, but Chiogga beets are tasty too). Wash thoroughly. Put them in a baking dish with enough water to cover the bottom of the dish to a depth of 1/8 inch and sprinkle with salt. Cover tightly with foil and bake the beets in a 350 deg F oven until they can be easily pierced with a sharp knife, 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on their size. Uncover and cool. Cut off their tops and roots and slip off the skins.

Cut peeled beets into small wedges and sprinkle with sherry vinegar and extra virgin olive oil (about equal proportions of oil and vinegar work well here. Use enough to coat the beets but not much more than that). Red wine vinegar would also work if you don't have sherry vinegar. Let stand for a few minutes and add more dressing and/or salt to taste. These can be served immediately, but also last in the fridge for a few days.