I’ve must have done beets over 50 different ways so far but I am still always searching for something new and different. I came across the most FORKING AMAZING white albino beets from from Singh Meadows Farm in Tempe Arizona. I got lucky and found this FORKING AMAZING recipe for beets and a FORKING AMAZING recipe for crispy fried beet leaves both from genius chef Yotam Ottolenghi on www.TheGuardian.com There are more recipes to both recipes but I thought for me I had enough to enjoy. You can add a blend of heavy cream and greek style yogurt to the beets if you want. To the battered crispy beet leaves you can make a tangerine dipping dipping sauce. Serving size here is difficult to call. The recipe says that it makes 4 side servings from 8-10 medium/large beets…..for me that sounds more like 8 servings…?????? I will say 4 servings.

Ingredients for around 4 servings.

2 pounds beets with leaves (reserve leaves for frying if desired)

sea salt

1 stick unsalted butter

1 1/3 oz olive oil

5 lime leaves – chopped

1/3 oz fresh ginger – peeled and chopped

1 garlic clove – crushed

1 Tablespoon lime juice + 2 tsp to serve

10 lime leaves – stalks removed and finely chopped – lime leaf salsa

1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger – peeled and fine chopped – lime leaf salsa

1/2 garlic clove -crushed- lime leaf salsa

1/2 green chili – fine chopped – lime leaf salsa

1 Tablespoon cilantro leaves, tender stems ok – chopped – lime leaf salsa

3 Tablespoons olive oil – lime leaf salsa

beet greens (I used just the leaves but it is ok to include stems)

scant ounce – dill – torn in small pieces

1/2 ounce fresh mint – torn in small pieces

1/2 Tablespoon Szechuan peppercorns – crushed

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup corn starch

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 cup ice water

1/2 teaspoon black sesame seeds

pinch ground white pepper

oil for frying

Directions

Set oven to 425 F. Place beets (not leaves) in a in a baking dish with a thumbs length of water. Add one tablespoon of salt and cover tight with a lid or foil. Bake one hour and twenty minutes or until beets are fork tender. Let them cool and remove skins when cool enough to handle.

While beet are cooking put the butter, oil, lime leaves, ginger and garlic in a sauce pan on medium high heat. Gently cook until butter begins to bubble about 4 minutes. Then let flavors infuse for around 40 minutes. Discard solids and stir in 1 Tablespoon lime juice and one teaspoon salt (preferably flaked salt).

Make lime leaf salsa. Mix the lime leaves, ginger, garlic, green chilli, cilantro and olive oil together. Set to the side.

By now the beets are cool and peeled. Make the hasselback on the beets. Cut slits on the backs….I used chopsticks around each beet as I made the cuts so I wouldn’t accidentally cut all the way threw. Place the beets on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Spoon the melted butter over the beets and into the cuts. They need around 1 hour and 15 minutes in the oven. Baste them around every 20 minutes. They need to cook till they are cooked threw and have crisp edges and are caramelized.

While the beets are in the oven you can make the crisp battered beet leaves. Have a pot of oil on medium heat slightly towards high. In a small bowl add the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, sesame seeds, dill, mint, peppers and salt. Add ice-water till you have a nice smooth batter. Dip a few leaves to fry up. They get done when golden. Use a cooling rack or a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Repeat till done.

To serve – Spoon the butter over them, (if using yogurt cream spoon that on too) Drizzle with salsa and remaining lime juice.

ENJOY!

A special THANKS! to Yotam Ottolenghi for his FORKING AMAZING recipe and to the Guardian for putting his recipes up on the web.

I was reading about all kinds of Turkish Pepper Paste and I thought that I could make pepper paste out of roasted bell pepper and add Aleppo and Urfa peppers. I roasted those flavored on to a cauliflower. I added sumac dressing and feta cheese and got something tasty. Serving size will differ because our cauliflowers aren’t the same size and we all eat different size portions of food. I’d say that mine made 6 side servings.

Ingredients for around 6 side servings

1 large head cauliflower

3 roasted red bell peppers – skin, seeds, stem removed, keep bell pepper liquid

2 Tablespoons Aleppo pepper

1 Tablespoon Urfa Biber pepper

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil + plus a little extra to oil pan

3 garlic cloves – ground to paste – dressing

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil – dressing

1 + 1/2 large lemons (just the fresh squeezed juice) – dressing

1 Tablespoon honey – dressing

Reserved pepper juices from roasting the cauliflower – dressing

sea salt to taste

3 oz crumbled feta cheese

2 Tablespoons fresh parsley leaves

Directions

Set oven to 400 degrees F

Cut the cauliflower in serving size wedges….(depending on size of cauliflower it will be 4,6, or 8 wedges)…

Lightly oil a baking sheet and set it to the side.

Blend together the roasted red peppers, Aleppo, Urfa, sea salt and olive oil. Rub this mixture all over the cauliflower wedges. Thee cauliflower goes on a baking sheet in the preheated 400 degree F oven for 10-13 minutes. Carefully remove the cauliflower and add the reed pepper juices to the dressing. Clean off the baking sheet and put the cauliflower back on. Broil lightly on each side till slightly caramelized. (around 5 minutes a side)

In a small mixing bowl mix together the feta with some of the dressing and add it to the cauliflower with some fresh parsley.

ENJOY!

I started out by reading about Kashmiri Masala spice blend and I thought it might taste good on butternut squash…..Then I started reading more about Kashmiri cuisine and got a bunch of ideas that are NOT authentic to Kashmiri cuisine but I thought that this combination taste good anyway and it does. Servings will differ ….I got seven stuffed peppers out of this that made seven servings for me. Some were small and some were bigger depending on the pepper.

Ingredients for around 6 servings

1 small butternut squash – peeled – seeds, stem, end button, and membranes removed and sliced very thin on a mandolin

2-3 Tablespoons Kashmiri Masala Seasoning – Add to taste – I used Archana’s Kitchen’s recipe for Kashmiri Masala. I thought the whole recipe 2-3 Tablespoons was perfect for one butternut squash.

1 lb Anaheim chili peppers (or any peppers that you like but timing might differ)

1 cup white vinegar

4 oz walnuts – lightly crushed

4 oz Pomegranate seeds (reserve 1-2 Tablespoons to finish)

1 teaspoon cumin seed

4 Tablespoons canola oil (1/2 goes in squash mixture the rest gets drizzled on pan and squash)

sea salt to taste

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut flakes

1/2 cup cilantro leaves and tender stems (packed tight)

1 Tablespoon dried mint (fresh mint is better but I didn’t have any..about two Tablespoons)

2 jalapeno peppers – fine chopped

4 garlic cloves – fine chopped

1/2 teaspoon ginger powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 lemon – just the fresh squeezed juice

1/2-3/4 cup water – to make chutney to desired consistency

1 Tablespoon (heaping) yogurt

1 Tablespoon (heaping) white miso

1 Tablespoon (heaping) mayonnaise

Directions

Cut peppers by making a slit across the stem area and down the middle and remove seeds and core. Once all the peppers are done put them in a ziplock bag with the vinegar and let them marinate at least 30 minutes.

Set oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl combine the butternut squash, walnuts, pomegranate (reserve a heaping tablespoon for finishing) cumin seeds and two tablespoons of canola oil. Mix well.

Get a baking sheet ready and drizzle it lightly with canola oil.

Shake off the peppers and stuff them full as much as you can. Put them on the baking sheet and drizzle lightly with oil.

Place in the middle rack of the oven till cooked threw and a little browned. Timing will differ but mine took around 25 minutes.

Make the Green coconut chutney.

Blend together the coconut, cilantro, mint, jalapeño, garlic, ginger, cumin, lemon juice and water to desired consistency. Add sea salt to taste. Put to the side.

Make the yogurt-miso-mayo. Just combine equal amounts of yogurt, miso and mayo. You don’t need much…just a little drizzle.

Finish with remaining pomegranate, Serve with chutney and drizzle with yogurt-miso-mayo.

ENJOY!

A SPECIAL THANKS to Archana’s Kitchen for your amazing Kashmiri Masala Recipe so I could come up with mine.

I took a trip up to Singh Meadows in Tempe AZ and picked up some amazing produce. Fiddlehead Ferns and Black Trumpet mushrooms are hard to come by and are highly prized by food lovers. You cook fiddle head ferns sort of like asparagus but longer. You MUST clean the fiddle head ferns very well and you have to cook them completely because they contain some sort of toxin that you have to cook all the way out. I read that if you boil them for 5 minutes that is enough so that is how I cooked mine. I think the sauces I picked go really well with this dish. This makes around 4 servings.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

1 lb fiddlehead ferns – cleaned really well

6 oz black trumpet mushrooms – cleaned

1 oz unsalted butter

1/4 cup tahini (tahini verde)

2 Tablespoons fresh tarragon (tahini verde)

1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro (tahini verde)

1 Tablespoon fresh Thai Basil (tahini verde)

ice water (I didn’t measure but I think it was around 1/4 cup) (tahini verde)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (tahini verde)

pinch ground white pepper (tahini verde)

2 Tablespoons white miso (miso aioli)

1 Tablespoon sour cream or greek yogurt (miso aioli)

1 Tablespoon mayonaise (miso aioli)

1 teaspoon garlic confit (miso aioli)

small splash rice wine vinegar (around a teaspoon or 2) (miso aioli)

sea salt to taste

ground black pepper to taste

optional – white and black sesame seeds to finish

Directions

Make the sauces.

For the tahini verde blend together the tahini, tarragon, cilantro, Thai basil, sea salt and white pepper. You will need to add ice water to get it to the right consistency. I think I used around 1/4 cup off ice water. Put this to the side or refrigerate for latter.

Make the miso aioli. In a small bowl combine the miso, sour cream, mayo, garlic confit and rice wine vinegar. Mix well. Set to the side or refrigerate for latter.

Get a pot of water to boil the fiddlehead ferns. Medium boil them for 5 minutes. Shock them with ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain the fiddlehead ferns and put them on a serving platter. I used the same pot to cook up my mushrooms. I dumped the water out and melted the butter and then added the mushrooms. I cooked them till they looked cooked. Then I dumped the mushrooms and all the mushroomy butter all over the fiddlehead ferns. I served the sauces on the side and sprinkled lightly with salt and pepper. I also added a few white and black sesame seeds.

ENJOY!