Beautiful Beet Greens and Sunshine are Inspiring
You (I) may think we are in the bleak season, but I am inspired by the voice of my dear Mom today, telling me “Marianne, where there is a will, there’s a way”………. If you are anything like me, you are about to expire from color-deprivation, such is my yearning for signs of plant life outside my door. Yes, I do walk along for one hour every day with my beloved Kit, camera in hand, and spy upon every living specimen I can find that emotes a tinge of green. As I walk along, I mutter encouraging words to the birds. Yes, I’ve seen the emerging sprouts of crocus and narcissus poking their optimistic little noses out of the ground. I even have a very brave little hyacinth beckoning to me outside my kitchen window, yes I do. These are all well and good, but with my completely impatient way at this time of year I am tempted to jump right out of my own skin. Photos over the last week or so of harvested strawberries and now, blossoming almond trees in California are tormenting me in the worst of ways. I have all I can possibly do to not jump on the next plane. If I weren’t so torn about leaving Kit these days, I’d be gone, gone gone…….
Let me just say that, from a seasonal perspective, nothing makes me happier than returning home from Melick’s Peach Orchards in Califon, NJ with a barrel-full of the most amazingly beautiful home-grown peaches and then to begin turning them into beautiful entrées, salads and desserts. Perhaps my most favorite of all Summertime dishes is the In-Season Peach and Tomato Caprese Salad with fresh snipped Basil from right outside my door. Ok, I may be completely delusional, because today is February 18 and I am deep, deep, deep into my annual bout with cabin-induced “let me outta here” fever. Like, PLEASE!!!!!! can Winter be over now?
tbt – July 25, 2015 at Melick’s Califon-couldn’t have been more glorious
Well, since I do realize that I won’t be back at Melick’s for my annual jamboree of peaches and picture taking until late in July, I have to try to grab for some semblance of a survival guide. Can I get into the kitchen and make something that will come close to or even exceed my expectations on this day when I am well within my counting down period? Let’s seen now, it’s February 18 and the first day of Spring this year is March 20 so it’s one month and two days……. Can I hang in that long? Let’s just see how close we are to the tipping point……….
So, I say to myself as I was driving along this morning in the newly minted sunshine after the last two dreadful days here, what could I possibly replace that medley of summer perfection of peaches, tomatoes, cheese and basil with – it would have to be something that would make my little heart sing – with colors and flavors……. and into my little head popped an idea……..
MY ROASTED BEET AND BLOOD ORANGE TWO-CHEESE CAPRESE SALAD STACKS with TOASTED HAZELNUTS –
1 bunch each golden and purple (red, ruby) beets
3 blood oranges
1 package (large ball) buffalo mozzarella
1 small slice off a wedge of mountain gorgonzola, broken into crumbles
a bunch of fresh basil if you can find it or a few leaves from a hydroponic plant
aged balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil
juice of one blood orange
best fragrant honey for drizzling
a handful of toasted hazelnuts, rough chop
a few sprigs of fresh thyme, optional
Roast the beets: Preheat oven to 425F. Wash the beets. Then, enclose the beets in two pouches of aluminum foil, one for the golden, one for the red and pierce with a fork a few times. Place in the oven and roast for 45 min to 1 hour, depending on the size of the beets. They are done when you can pierce them with a sharp knife and there is no resistance. Remove from the oven, open the pouches and let cool. Wearing gloves if possible, remove the skins with your hands or a very sharp knife when they are cool enough to handle and set aside to cool completely.
Meanwhile, toast the hazelnuts in a preheated 375F oven for 8 minutes or until you begin to smell them toasting. Remove from oven and give them a rough chop.
When the beets are cool, slice them horizontally, about 1/2″ thick. Remove the buffalo mozzarella from the refrigerator and slice into slightly thinner slices. Peel the blood oranges and slice horizontally. Here it would be great if the diameter of the beets, cheese and oranges were all approximately the same. If not, well don’t worry. You just want to try to make this look as neat and tidy as possible.
Arrange the salad on a plate: Make a stack of 1 slice purple beet, one slice mozzarella, a leaf of basil, a few scant sprinkles of crumbled gorgonzola, one slice blood orange, one slice yellow beet, one slice mozzarella, a leaf of basil, a few sprinkles of crumbled gorgonzola, one slice blood orange. Top with a small piece of the mozzarella, a dusting of chopped hazelnuts and insert a sprig of fresh thyme on top, if desired. Drizzle with a scant bit of your very best aged balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil on top. Gild the lilly with the slightest drizzle of fragrant honey whisked together with a splash of blood orange juice 🙂
There now, that’s just about as colorful as the summer version, isn’t it? There is indeed more than one way to skin a cat now, isn’t there? Oooops , don’t let Callie hear me say that! Hope you enjoy! I intend to – for lunch!
yummy, colorful and deliciously satisfying – all with seasonal ingredients – well, except perhaps for the basil