Let me tell you, today's foods are quite exciting! Ok, maybe they are only exciting because I find new and inventive uses for foods to be fantastic, but a girl's gotta have something to keep her going in this cruel cruel [or not really cruel (to me) at all] world! Or, ok, I'm making excuses for being the food geek I am...and I'm rambling, so now it's time to ferme ma bouche and move on to what counts: the beets.
Now, I have to be honest with you--the only reason today's post is happening is because Sunday rolled around and I had forgotten [gasp!!] that I had a third beet. Since it was the beginning of a new week [i.e. a new vegetable], I needed to do something with the beet--quick!
Today's Menu:
Beet Chips
Ruby Red Sorbet
I was having some gal pals over for afternoon tea on Sunday and the theme was, no surprise, St. Patrick's Day and All Things Green [recipes forthcoming]. However, I thought the crimson of the beets would make a nice contrast to the rest of the table and it was the perfect opportunity to see what beets could do as snack foods. So, I decided to see what I could do with my limited time.
Luckily, earlier in the week I had stumbled upon a recipe for beet chips. Remembering how much I love those red Terra chips [also beet], I was pretty thrilled at the though of making my own. Furthermore, I thought they would make a wonderful addition to my array of teatime finger foods.
The beet chip recipe calls for making a simple syrup in which you soak the beets before baking them. However, that process leaves behind a beautiful simple syrup that I didn't want to just dump down the drain.
Simple syrup: One part water to one part sugar, heated and boiled until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens slightly. A simple syrup is often put in cold drinks [like iced tea] as a sweetner because straight sugar doesn't dissolve. Additionally, it forms the base of sorbets and granitas.
Given this fantastic leftover simple syrup, infused with beety goodness, I decided to make a sorbet out of it. This is the "half" part of the series because:
a. it doesn't actually have beets in it
b. i'm still working on the recipe a bit--as it is, the sorbet is very very beety, even with the addition of grapefruit juice. While it makes for a wonderful 'tween courses palate cleanser, I'd like to see if I can make it into something viable as a stand alone dessert. I'd like to mellow the beet flavor a tad and bring in some more citrus flavor, which is a wonderful and common combo with beets.
I must say, though it needs some work the sorbet has the most gorgeous color. I can't get over how well beets impart their crimsonness to anything they touch. Thoroughly pleased.
The end results of this experiment were definitely satisfying. The chips were great, with good flavor and an interesting crunchy-yet-chewy texture that was quite pleasant. The sorbet is also delicious, but i'm still working on it.
And this concludes beet week, but don't worry...
Beet Chips
[note: this recipes is based on the one found in Gourmet, June 2004. I recommend a mandolin for slicing, but a sharp knife and steady hands will do just as well.]
1 medium beet
1 c water
1 c sugar
directions:
1. prepare the beets
a. peel the beets.
b. using a mandolin, or a sharp non-serrated knife, slice the beets paper thin.
2. make the simple syrup
a. put the water and sugar in a medium saucepan. bring to a boil, stir until sugar dissolves, and continue boiling a few minutes longer until the mixture thickens.
b. add the beets and remove the pot from the heat. let beets sit at least 15 minutes.
3. bake
a. preheat the oven to 225F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
b. using a slotted spoon, take the beets out of the syrup and let drain. lay them on the baking sheet making sure they don't overlap. season with salt and pepper.
c. bake beets until dry, approximately 1 hour. remove from the oven and let cool--they should crisp up as they cool.
Ruby Red Sorbet
[note: this sorbet is highly sugared. as a result, it does not get icy and it melts relatively quickly when taken out of the freezer. it is, however, easy to scoop]
beet infused simple syrup [see above]
juice from 1/2 ruby red grapefruit
directions:
1. add juice to the prepared simple syrup and bring to a boil. continue boiling a few minutes until mixture becomes very thick.
2. remove from heat and let cool completely.
3. pour liquid into a plastic container and put in the freezer. let freeze overnight.
...the beet goes on!
Comments, questions, and recipe alterations are always more than welcome.
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