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Pureed Beets With Yogurt - A Mediterranean dish

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Ok, I admit, beets aren’t for everybody. They are a love or hate thing. It also depends on your childhood if you ask me. My experience with beets was the stuff in the can. Yuck! Well, as I have aged and started to dabble more in the kitchen, I am learning new recipes that really highlight the earthiness of the beet without just eating pure beets. Anyway, this recipe is my wife’s favorite and comes from Ottolenghi’s book, Jerusalem. This recipe serves 6.

  1. Roast 2 lbs of beets until tender. About an hour in a 400 degree oven OR you could use my Roasted Beet recipe which adds another layer of flavor to the dish. Allow to cool down.

  2. In a food processor, add the beets, 2 cloves of garlic crushed, 1 small chile chopped, and 1 cup of Greek yogurt. Blend into a paste.

  3. Put mixture into a mixing bowl and stir in 1 1/2 TBSP of date syrup. I used maple syrup as I can’t locate date syrup in my stores. Add 3 TBSP of olive oil and 1 tsp of salt. Adjust for your taste.

  4. Put in a serving dish and spread. Add some green onions, toasted hazelnuts and feta or goat cheese for garnish, if desired.

Eat.Drink.Savor.

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Brussels Sprouts Salad

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Here is a newer recipe that shakes up our normal Roasted Brussels Sprout rut that we get into from time to time. It is an America’s Test Kitchen recipe we stumbled onto and it is a big labor intensive but well worth it as you can make it ahead of time.

1) 1 LB of Brussels Sprouts, cut in half through the stem and sliced crosswise very thin. Now, I tried to use my grater on my food processor and it didn’t turn out well as the sprouts became too dense. The slicer was a better option but nothing worked as well as a plain old Chef’s knife.

2) Whisk 2 TBSPs lemon juice, 1 TBSP mustard (I like Dijon here), 2 garlic cloves, minced, 1 small shallot, minced and 1/2 tsp salt. Slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup high quality extra virgin olive oil.

3) Add sprouts and toss well. Let it sit for about 30 minutes, 2 hours max. The acid in the lemon juice is your hard worker as it will break down the sprouts and make it a more enjoyable chew without getting the sprout mushy.

4) Stir in 2/3 C. shredded Pecorino Romano or another similar cheese (Parmesan) and 1/4 C. toasted pine nuts. Salt and pepper to taste.

Eat.Drink.Savor.

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Chocolate Pecan Pie

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This pie is one of our Thanksgiving desserts. A Paula Deen recipe that I found and played with has turned into a holiday tradition. Like all pies.. easy!!!

1) If you want to fuss with making your own crust, please do. Anyway, this a one crust pie. To a 9” pan with crust, add 2 C. pecan halves.

2) In a mixing bowl, whisk 2 large eggs and 3 TBSP of melted butter. Make sure the butter is cool or your will scramble the eggs.

3) To the mixing bowl, Add 1/2 C of maple syrup. You can use other types of sugar but this one works so well. Add 1 C granulated sugar (or brown if you want to make it even more decadent), 2 TBSPs of Maker’s Mark Bourbon. I play with this ingredient a lot. Bourbon works best but you can have fun with it. Add 3 oz of chopped semi-sweet chocolate. Mix and combine all ingredients. Pour mixture on top of pecans in pie shell and put on a baking sheet.

4) Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes, then lower to 350 degrees for about 25 minutes OR until filling is set. Remove and let cool. TIP: If you don’t need to serve right away, let cool and put in freezer for 20 minutes. Then cut the pie into individual servings. Makes it easier to cut and serve later on.

Eat.Drink.Savor.