These golden beets are peeled, boiled and served whole. When you eat the whole beet its texture, color and mass are memorable. Eating this dish is a grounding, warming, and, yes, sweet way to start the day. The beautiful pewter plate with engraved pomegranates was made by the Iraqi artist Oded Halahmy.
serves 3
INgredients
3 gold beets
pinch coarse sea salt
½ cup raw pecans
1 ½ teaspoons pomegranate molasses (aka syrup)
1-2 Tablespoons pomegranate arils
Process Use a peeler to peel the tough outer skin of the beet.
Rinse the beets and place them, whole, in a medium to large pot. Fill with water to cover the beets by at least two inches. Add a pinch of coarse sea salt and place on a medium to high flame. When the water boils, cover the pot and simmer the beets for about 20 minutes, or until a fork pierces the beet easily. Remove the beets from the water carefully using a wire mesh skimmer.
Set aside. Heat a stainless steel or cast iron skillet on a medium flame for about 20 seconds. Add the raw pecans and use cooking chopsticks to continually turn the nuts so they get roasted on all sides. Note: they should not be burnt, just a light golden brown. This should take about 3-5 minutes. Remove pecans from the pan and chop them into small pieces the size of pomegranate seeds.
Place the beets, whole, on a platter. Drizzle with the pomegranate molasses
and then the pecans. Use a whole pecan or a pomegranate seed to crown the top of a beet.
Scatter a few pomegranate seeds around the beets and serve.
©Nancy Wolfson-Moche 2014
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