Ubuntu Recipes (continued)
Beets Roasted in Spiced Salt with Asian Pears and Whipped Blue Cheese
Ingredients
Beets:
• 1 lb. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. each fennel seed, coriander, juniper berries
• 40 baby chioggia beets
• 4 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
Poached Pears:
• 2 cups white wine
• 4 cups water
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 star anise
• 12 black peppercorns
• 2 cloves
• Grating of nutmeg
• 1 lemon, zest removed in strips with a vegetable peeler, and juiced
• 5 Asian pears, peeled, halved, cored, and stored in a bowl of water acidulated with juice of 1 lemon
• 1⁄2 lb. blue cheese, at room temperature
• 2 tbsp. heavy cream
• 1⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt
• 25 leaves arugula
Directions
1. To roast the beets: Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a small bowl, mix the salt and spices. In a 9-by-13-inch baking dish or an ovenproof vessel with a lid, pack the beets in the spiced salt mixture. Cover with foil or the lid, and bake until beets are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. While still warm but cool enough to handle, peel beets with a towel, rubbing off the skin, and transfer to a covered bowl to keep warm. Add 2 tablespoons of the vinegar, and toss. (Warm beets will absorb liquid better.) Halve or quarter beets, depending on size; set aside.
2. To poach the pears: In a nonreactive pot large enough to hold the pears, bring the wine to a boil, and cook until reduced by half. Reduce the heat so that the liquid barely simmers. Add the water, sugar, spices and lemon juice and zest, and cook until sugar dissolves. Add pears, setting a plate on top to keep them submerged, and simmer until they are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove pot from heat; allow pears to cool completely in poaching liquid.
3. In a bowl, whisk the blue cheese and cream until blended; set aside at room temperature.
4. To serve, purée two of the pears with just enough poaching liquid to blend; strain through fine sieve. Slice the remaining pears about 1⁄2 inch thick. Spread the pear purée over the bottom of a serving plate. Toss the beets in the remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar, the olive oil and a pinch of salt, and arrange evenly over purée. Spoon any beet vinaigrette over. Top with sliced pears and spoonfuls of whipped blue cheese. Garnish with arugula leaves. Serves 6.
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