More Beets

The Beet Fest Continues…

Breakfast Borscht
With a Poached Egg and Rye Toast

We were pleasantly surprised at this wonderful pairing for breakfast. The gooey poached egg took the place of sour cream, and with the earthy, slightly sweet and sour borscht, it was a winning combination. And the rye toast was the perfect complement. If you happen to make A Borscht Like Nana’s do keep some aside, or freeze, to serve for breakfast or brunch. You’ll have a delightfully unusual breakfast dish, with the simple addition of a poached egg and toast.
When making A Borscht Like Nana’s, the greens are removed from the root. The beets are simmered in water until tender. I kept the greens refrigerated until a few days later and made this vibrant side dish.

I also reserved one of the cooked beets, it didn’t go into the borscht, it was wrapped up and went into the refrigerator to pair with the greens later on.

Beet Root, Beet Greens
With Garlic, Shallot, Raspberry Vinegar
Briefly sauté minced shallot, garlic and red pepper flakes in half olive oil half butter. Then add chopped beet greens, cook until just about wilted and tender. Add the one diced beet and heat through. Finish with a splash of raspberry vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.
This concludes The Beet Fest:
Oh, and here’s one more, a great beet recipe from my archives:
What is your favorite way to serve beets?

Mexican Lime Tart


Mexican Lime Tart
One Local Ingredient: Lime

Citrus aurantifolia Swingle
English – Mexican lime, key lime, West Indian lime
Spanish – lima ácida, lima chica, limón chiquito
French – limette, limettier acide
German – limett
Italian – limetta
Dutch – lemmetje, limmetje
East Africa – ndimu
Philippines – dalayap, dayap
Malaya – limau asam
India – nimbu, limbu, nebu, lebu or limun
Brazil – limao galego, lintao miudo
Egypt and the Sudan – limûn baladi
Morocco – doc
Do you know another?
Crust – graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter
Filling – Mexican lime juice and zest, sweetened condensed milk, eggs
Garnish – powdered sugar, Mexican limes and leaves, whipped cream

The blossoms are very fragrant and the leaves make a pretty garnish. The fruit is mature when it turns yellow or at least greenish-yellow. The time from bloom to edible fruit is about 3 months.

The Mexican Lime Tree
So here is the little guy today, planted in October 2008. I’ve had an endless supply of limes from the beginning. One thing I’m not happy about: this tree has very sharp thorns. Picking the fruit can be dangerous. I found out in my research that there is a thornless variety. Too. Late.

It is an ever bearing tree in this climate which makes my brother, Bill, happy. When he stops by there is always an organic lime on hand for his Corona. And plenty of limes with which to make Margaritas and Pisco Sours! If you are inspired to make a similar tart or pie, the Internet is awash in key lime pie recipes using the simple ingredients listed above.
My longtime blogger friend Simona of Briciole blog is hosting Fresh Produce of the Month and February’s produce was citrus. I am speeding this tart over to her in hopes she can include it in the round-up. Simona, this limes for you!

A Borscht Like Nana’s

My Nana (paternal grandmother) was born in Kiev, Russia in 1894. In the 1960’s Nana and Papa lived a few miles from our house in Chicago. I remember coming home from school in the winter to kitchen windows that were all steamed up. Nana was at our house and she was making soup! I vividly remember Nana’s borscht. It tasted sweet, and sour, and it had lots of meat, short ribs to be exact.
Cookbook author Barbara Kafka has a recipe in her fabulous book, SOUP: A Way of Life, that reminds me of that borscht. She says she made it for her father who was from Slutzk, a shtetl (small town with a large Jewish population) near Minsk. Barbara’s Red Russian Soup tastes quite similar to how I remember my Nana’s soup.
My mother sometimes took notes while watching her mother-in-law cook, and that is how we were able recreate her delicious Meat Soup. Unfortunately, we have no recipe of my Nana’s borscht so I am grateful to Barbara for her excellent recipe and the inspiration for me to make A Borscht Like Nana’s.
To make this wonderful soup, you can follow the directions in my previous post, BEET SOUP WITH TRUFFLE OIL (link at the bottom of this post) but do not purée. Additionally, simmer 3 lbs. beef short ribs in water until butter tender, 2+ hours. Trim the fat and cut the meat into bite-sized pieces. Add the de-fatted meat broth and meat to the beet soup. Simmer. Serve over a cubed boiled potato. Top the meaty borscht with a dollop of sour cream (if OK to serve milk with meat).

Beet Soup with Truffle Oil

Beet Soup
White Truffle Oil
Crème Fraîche

Cover the beets with water. Bring to boil then simmer until very tender. When beets are cool enough to handle; trim, peel and slice.

Strain the beet cooking liquid through a coffee filter, reserve.

While the beets cook, bring stock to a boil in a large soup pot. Add carrot, cabbage, onion, garlic, tomato, bay leaves. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Approximate Quantities:
  • 4 or 5 beets
  • 1 chopped head cabbage
  • 1 sliced medium onion
  • 4 sliced carrots
  • 7 crushed garlic cloves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 bunch dill
  • 1 large can seeded peeled tomatoes
  • 8 c. stock ((beef or vegetable)
  • sugar, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste
  • truffle oil and crème fraîche for garnish

After about 30 minutes, add sliced beets, beet liquid, and a bunch of dill. And red wine vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for another 15 minutes. Remove bay. Purée with an immersion blender. Adjust seasonings.

Serve hot or cold. Drizzle crème fraîche, white truffle oil, dill sprig garnish. In the last post, I was pondering the value of “optional” ingredients. The truffle oil here is not optional. It is what makes this soup special!
One of the best wine pairings I can remember was enjoyed at Chef Nancy Oakes’ Boulevard in San Francisco where Chioggia beets (Italian heirloom variety) were paired with a fruity flavorful red wine from Brouilly. Definitely try this soup with a Brouilly if you can find one, if not, try a more readily available Beaujolais.

Delightful Color, Cheery Garnish
Highly Nutritious
Delicious Deep Earthy Flavors

Anasazi “baked potato” Beans

Anasazi Boutique Beans
Baked Potato Style:
Butter, Sour Cream, Chives, Bacon

These are Anasazi Beans. Some say they were found in a cave by archaeologists during a dig in New Mexico and carbon dated to be 1500 years old. For this reason they are also called Cave Beans. Others say that settlers at the turn of the last century found this bean in the Anasazi ruins and cultivated it in lands where the Anasazi lived. Interesting. All I can tell you is that these are very tasty beans. And this recipes rocks!


You might have read my recent post on Black Calypso Beans, and that some people think that bean tastes like a baked potato? So it gave me the idea to serve beans prepared in the style of a baked potato. Here, the tender warm heirloom beans are tossed in melted butter in a fry pan. Add coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper, chopped bacon and chives (or finely sliced scallions). Serve topped with sour cream. It’s really good.
Side note: I considered saying bacon is optional. I guess in many recipes, the author writes that a certain ingredient is optional, but the recipe will still turn out OK if you omit it. But of course, it will be different. You can omit bacon. That’s OK. You can omit the sour cream, or the butter, or the chives. I guess the only thing you cannot omit is the beans. Is it helpful to say an ingredient is optional? Your thoughts?