Once in awhile my best recipes come about by
accident. It was time to clean out the vegetable bin in the
refrigerator, and get ready for fresh vegetables—we belong to a
vegetable co-op that delivers weekly. There were six ears of corn I
meant to cook earlier, completely forgotten. Sometimes being rich in
vegetables makes me also a little wasteful. This winter I will only
dream about my vegetable bin being full to overflowing.
So, along with the greens, peppers and
tomatoes I'd already planned to prepare, there was corn that needed
to be cooked. It wasn't a good night to grill, and I didn't want to
just boil it, so I threw it into the oven and hoped for the best. I
wasn't disappointed.
Next to the corn were six small beets
that seemed to be just about to shrivel. I couldn't let those little
red jewels turn into prune-like images of their former selves. No time like the present to try the Beet and Goat Cheese Salad I've seen on so many
menus. I've never been fond of beets, and honestly think they taste
a little like dirt, but roasting does wonders for most all
vegetables. A little caramelization and suddenly the beets took on a
delicious, deep flavor that was wonderful combined with the maple
syrup vinaigrette and the goat cheese.
Hope you enjoy these easy and delicious
ways to eat your vegetables!
Roasted Beet Salad
4-5 small beets, peeled and sliced into
thick rounds
One-half cup chopped walnuts
5 T extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 T red wine vinegar
2 T maple syrup
1 shallot, finely chopped
Salad Greens (baby greens are
particularly nice with some arugula)
8 oz. goat cheese, well chilled
2 eggs, beaten
~1 cup seasoned panko, or bread crumbs
Boil beets covered in water over medium
heat for about 30 minutes.
Drain on paper towels to dry. Toss in
2 tablespoons olive oil. Spread beets onto sheet pan covered with
foil and roast for 30 minutes in 425°
oven. Half way through roasting time, sprinkle walnuts over beets
and continue roasting.
Whisk together remaining oil, vinegar,
syrup and shallot. Set aside.
Cut goat cheese in eight rounds. Dip
each round into egg and then panko. Place on plate covered with wax
paper and refrigerate until ready to serve salad. Just before
serving, brown cheese rounds on both sides over medium heat in a
nonstick skillet.
Place greens in salad bowl, add beets
and walnuts, and finally goat cheese rounds. Pour vinaigrette over
salad and serve.
Roasted Corn on the Cob
6 or more ears of corn, cleaned
1 stick of butter softened
One-half teaspoon garlic salt
1 tsp. Dried Italian herbs
Preheat oven to 350°.
Mix butter, garlic salt and herbs.
Line a baking pan with a large piece of
foil. Place corn in pan and brush butter mixture over corn. Cover
tightly with another piece of foil. Place in oven and cook for about
an hour, turning corn once while cooking.
(If you have any corn left over, cut it
off the cob and add it to a salad the next day.)
