-TS Eliot

I don’t know what it is about the last stanza of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock that has always made me think of beets.  I mean sure, the word red is in there, and red is eponymous with beets, but I don’t think that’s it.  I think it’s because I get some vision of waiflike sirens with rosy cheeks and garnet lips billowing on fragile seashells on the crest of a wave.  Red lips and cheeks always bring beets to my imagination because I love to paint the faces of everyone in the kitchen with halved beets whenever I’m working with them.  If no one is game, I step it up another notch and take out my 12” chef’s knife, drizzle beet juice all over it and my finger, and commence to bloodcurdlingly scream. That get’s them every time, of course then they really won’t let me paint their faces since they’re so mad at me. 

I was in a TS Eliot kind of mood at the market last week so when I saw how bursting and succulent the beets looked, I had to gather them up.  I got a bunch of red beets and another bunch of Chioggia for color contrast and taste subtleties.  I wore out my texting finger sending out missives to put together a rosy bunch for the party (yes, pun intended) and got down to the business of menu planning while my beets merrily roasted away.  I knew I wanted to carry the beets from beginning to end of the meal but I wanted to do it in a way that wouldn’t beat people over the head by its obviousness.  Straight away I tackled dessert since that was going to be the hardest part.  I’m a fool for gelato and recently had success with the crazy flavor combination of garlic chocolate, so why not beet gelato?  Genius Jonas had the clever idea to top it with balsamic- fabu! Looks just like strawberry ice cream with chocolate syrup- not obvious at all. 

The main course and salad fell into place easily since I have two old standby recipes I’m always eager to serve involving beets.  The salad starts with a bed of greens- I usually use mache but couldn’t find them this time and butter lettuce is very much in season so that’s what I used.  I fry up rounds of chevre breaded in panko and intermix them with cubed beets and pistachios- it’s pretty dreamy.  This time I served it with some honey balsamic I put together, mainly to tie in the upcoming dessert. 

Probably my favorite beet dish in the universe is beet gnocchi.  Technically since you use beets and ricotta instead of potatoes, it’s actually more of a gnudi than a gnocchi (or ricotta gnocchi as some people call it).  For this one you must plan ahead as the ricotta needs to drain overnight to achieve the correct texture. 

That works just fine if you’re making gelato, though, as it’s ideal to make your custard the night before and let it completely chill in the refrigerator before you freeze it into proper gelato. 

 I serve it with a roasted red pepper red sauce because the contrast of the orange sauce and the pink gnocchi is to die for. 

Beet Gnocchi

• 2 small red beets roasted and grated
• 15 oz whole milk ricotta drained in cheesecloth over a bowl overnight
• 1 duck egg
• 3 oz parmigiano reggiano grated (more for serving)
• Fleur de sel and black pepper
• 1 c all-purpose flour plus more for work surface
• 4-5 tbsp butter

1.  Combine beets, ricotta, egg, cheese, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.  Stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.  Add flour and stir into a soft dough.  Cover and let rest in refrigerator for 1-3 hours. 
2. Pull the dough from the refrigerator and break off cup-sized chunks.  Roll in flour into 1” thick tubes.  Cut tubes every inch to form the gnocchi.  You can make a pattern on the top of them using the back of a fork if you choose.  Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover, and let sit a minimum of a half hour and up to three hours.
3. Boil gnocchi a few at a time in salted and oiled water for about one minute.  Transfer to a pan large enough to contain them all and dollop with butter to keep moist.  Keep them warm in a 200° oven until you have cooked all gnocchi and are ready to serve. 
4. Serve in your favorite sauce, I do a roasted red pepper tomato sauce but I wing it every time in terms of ingredients I have on hand, so be creative.  They have so much flavor you could get by with a browned butter sauce, but whatever you choose, pass plenty of parmigiano at the table. 

Beet Gelato

• 2 small red beets roasted and grated using large holes of a box grater
• 1 c raw milk
• 1 c heavy cream
• 2 egg yolks (I prefer duck eggs)
• 1 whole egg
• ½ c sugar

1.  Put the milk, cream and grated beets into a medium saucepan and bring to low boil over medium heat.  Meanwhile, whisk the sugar with the egg and yolks until well blended.  Once a low boil has been reached, temper the eggs by spooning a small amount of cream mixture into eggs and whisking vigorously so they don’t curdle. 
2. Add the tempered eggs to the saucepan, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.  Continue to boil until custard coats the back of the spoon, stirring constantly all the while.  This could take 2-4 minutes, but be attentive, you don’t want your custard to curdle.  Remove from heat and pour through a medium mesh strainer into a bowl.  Allow custard to cool completely (preferably covered in refrigerator overnight) before freezing according to the manufacturer’s instructions on your ice cream maker.  If you do not have an ice cream maker, freeze custard for one hour then remove from freezer and mix with an immersion blender until completely agitated.  Do this three times before a final freeze and you’ll have amazing hand-churned gelato. 

Sweet Balsamic Vinegar Syrup

• ¼ c sugar
• ¼ c water
• ¼ c balsamic vinegar

1. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and reduce over medium low heat stirring occasionally until the consistency of honey has been reached.   Cool and spoon over scoops of beet gelato.