Just Say Yes to Beets!

This weekend, the New York Times had a bit of a beet love-fest, including a recipe for beet and beet green risotto, and a lovely Mediterranean beet salad with yogurt. I could not resist the beet salad recipe so I tossed it together this evening. Messing about with beets is a really wonderful thing, largely because of their color. They bleed that rich purple all over the place. I'm always a little nervous that it will stain the countertop, or even more importantly, the white vintage Saarinen dining room table which I adore with all my heart. In spite of my fears, I can't resist them. The rich juice coming off these beets reminded me of another use for beets which I haven't explored in some time. That would be their use in sweet dishes like cakes. I'll tackle that after the salad...

From the NYTimes:
Begin with 4 medium size roasted beets.
Slice the beets any which way you like, and marinate for a few hours to overnight in a couple of tablespoons of your favorite vinegar (I used rice vinegar, and Persimmon will track you down and kill you if you use balsamic), a tsp of sugar, and two tbsp of olive oil, with a bit of salt and black pepper.

Make a half cup of lebne. This is basically drained yogurt, preferably Bulgarian or Greek style. I put it in a coffee filter over a strainer and let it drip away into a pot for a few hours, or overnight. Mix the lebne with some salt, some very finely minced garlic to taste, and a minced tablespoon of dill or mint (I used mint).

Drain the beets, cover with the lebne, sprinkle another tablespoon of the minced herbs on top, and serve.

I'm a little tired now so I won't go much further with this post until tomorrow when I will describe the mysterious role of beets in the origins of that fine Southern delicacy, the Red Velvet Cake...