A few days ago I felt like I needed to get my ass down to the Calgary Farmer's Market. Ooh la la! There were tables upon tables upon tables of goodies for my eyes to feast upon and for my wallet to become emptied by.
I had it in mind that I was going to make borscht over the following few days, so my buying was themed as such. I bought a bunch of amazing, fresh, red beets and a bunch of onions from the Hutterite's table. I really wanted potatoes too. It seemed like everywhere I looked there were these bags of red potatoes, gold potatoes, mini purple potatoes, potatoes potatoes potatoes! I bought a bag of these red smallish potatoes which look kind of like the peel is coming off slightly. I am going to make some roasties and potato salad with those. I also bought some sausages from this dim sum shop, which were made with chicken, green onions and ginger - dim sum dumplings in sausage form, how utterly delicious and addictive does that sound? Hehe, I like a good sausage.
Anywho, back to those beets and onions. When I brought them home, I started getting cravings for roasted beets. Mostly out of the blue... I guess I got the idea when I was roasting some brocolli that night (it turned out ok... when I make it and it turns out GOOD, then I'll take some pictures and post what I did). So I got to thinking about different things that would taste good with beets and got to thinking about the whole balance thing... you know; salty, sweet, savoury, crunchy, soft.... all the contrasting things that go so well together when you combine them just right! I got the idea to boost the sweetness and savoury factor to a whole different level and I decided that those onions would do really well roasted too. I thought dressing them might be delicious too... like, a little pan sauce or something. Balsamic vinegar! Perfect! I thought I would add that and maybe a little olive oil and perhaps a few sprigs off of my new English Thyme plant I have living on my kitchen table.
Summer then came to mind... salads! Lets put those roasted, dressed vegetables on some leaves! I bought a bag of salad leaves which I think I recall were Romaine, Radicchio and Endive, which seemed like a good mix to me. Good crunch with some peppery flavour. Perfect with the tang of the balsamic and the sweetness of the veggies. In my storecupboard I had a half a bag of pecan pieces left from baking, so I decided some of those toasted, and perhaps some crumbles of a sharp flavoured cheese (in the form of Macedonian feta, what a creamy treat!) would garnish it perfectly!
Ta-da - that is exactly what I did.
Those pictures are something else, aren't they?!! The beets turned out sweet and almost candy-like, the onions as well - both taking on a tartness from the balsamic, but still deliciously sweet. The pecans, which I toasted in a skillet added a perfect earthiness and that cheese made it just that much more luxurious. Now that I have overdescribed the deliciousness of those fresh ingredients, I will submit some recipes. Keep in mind I come up with most recipes on my own, in my own head.
Enjoy!
Roasted Beet and Onion Salad with Warm Balsamic Vinegarette
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Serves 4 as a side dish, 2 as a meal (if you like a big, satisfying salad!)
Ingredients
4 medium beets, any colours you desire
3 medium Walla Walla sweet onions
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
A few sprigs of thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Bag of mixed greens of your choice
About 1/4 cup of sharp cheese of your choice (Feta goes perfectly, try new varieties!)
Handful of pecans, toasted for a couple minutes in a skillet on medium-high heat (don't look away!!)
Method
Set oven to 350 degrees
Wash, peel and cut the beets into 1/4" pieces (the smaller they are, the sweeter and more condensed their flavour becomes with less roasting time)
Wash and trim onions. Cut into wedges, leaving a bit of the bottom on, so they don't fall apart.
Scatter the vegetables in a roasting pan or dish and toss with about 2tsp of the balsamic vinegar (I just splash enough on to coat, using my thumb over the top of the vinegar bottle), and about the same amount of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper (about 1/4 - 1/2 tsp each, or to taste) and scatter fresh thyme leaves over top.
Roast in the oven until golden brown and tender - up to an hour. Check them every 10-15 minutes and give them a stir. That way, they will brown evenly on all sides without burning on the bottom.
While the vegetables bake, put the bagged salad onto a serving dish. Prepare your pecans, by toasting them in a skillet with no fat in it over medium high heat for a couple minutes. You will know they are done, because they will release their aroma, a delicious roasty nutty smell!
When the vegetables are done, set aside on a plate to cool. Splash about another tbsp or so of the vinegar into the roasting dish, where the sweet juices have stuck to the bottom, and deglaze the pan with this. Don't put it on the heat, you don't need to reduce this, as the pan drippings are super sweet. Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste and about a tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Wisk together.
To assemble the salad, scatter the roasted veggies on top of the leaves, then top with the nuts and the crumbled cheese. Drizzle with the dressing and serve immediately so those greens don't wilt.
Bon apetit!!!
The picture I have added here is of the salad served with a procuitto crusted chicken breast, recipe to come eventually!!
