I can’t get enough of beets. I love their earthy flavor, the crispy texture and especially their color. Fresh beets are the best and when we see them in Tokyo, we buy them. This weekend I had a beet in the fridge and a plan for tapas on Saturday night. But how to incorporate the beet into the tapas?
Beet and Walnut Spread
makes about 2 cups
1 large beet, cooked*, peeled, & roughly chopped
3/4 cup walnut halves
1/4 cup verjuice, or somewhat less lemon juice
10-12 fresh basil leaves
Put everything in the food processor. Blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve on toast, crackers or with vegetables.
*We usually use the pressure cooker, but you could boil, steam or roast your beet.
I recently tried a beet salad and it wasn’t awful, but I’m still not thrilled with the flavor. They always make me think of that great opening passage in Tom Robbin’s Jitterbug Perfume. “The beet is the most intense of vegetables. The radish, admittedly, is more feverish, but the fire of the radish is a cold fire, the fire of discontent not of passion. Tomatoes are lusty enough, yet there runs through tomatoes an undercurrent of frivolity. Beets are deadly serious.”
Posted by: JHK on August 25, 2008 11:28 PMOh, thank goodness — I read “Beer” and Walnut spread. Couldn’t figure out how that combo would turn pink…
The beet & walnut combo sounds much better. It’s sort of like a cheeseless beety pesto. OK, so it’s not at all like pesto, but it sounds good to me.
Posted by: DiverMom on August 27, 2008 07:13 AM