beets | dmarie-dining

Yellow Beets. Until I decided to create a new chicken and pasta dish I had not seen nor had I tasted yellow beets. During one of my treks to Trader Joe’s I spotted the yellow beets after I saw another customer pick up a package in the vegetable aisle and it looked different from other vegetables. Of course, it could also have been the posted sign saying “New Try Me” that caught my eye.

To be specific, the package contained roasted yellow beets. Immediately, I started thinking about what kind of dish I could possibly make with roasted yellow beets. Since I planned to make chicken and pasta with the lemon chicken I had already thrown into the cart, I figured why not add the roasted yellow beets for more flavor and a pop of color. To add even more color I picked up a package of snap peas to liven up the dish.

I knew from the beginning it was going to be a little tricky to get my youngest son to eat beets. He professes not to like them but it could be because when I made beet salad and the dish turned pink. I thought the dish looked pretty but he thought it looked unappealing at least to his eyes. Even when I just served seasoned plain beets, T would scrunch up his face and gently remove them from his plate. Like I sometimes say, we often eat with our eyes.

Mixing up the yellow beets with the chicken and snap peas was distracting enough that T didn’t really mention the yellow looking thing in the dish. By the time I told him what it was he couldn’t make a face because he had eaten half the food on his plate. I guess blending in the yellow beets is like when my girlfriend added prunes to a cake and didn’t tell me until I had gobbled it up and said how moist and delicious it tasted. I don’t care for prunes but since the cake was good what can I say.

The next time you want to jazz up one of your chicken dishes try adding roasted yellow beets. It can be our little secret.

Chicken, Yellow Beets and Pasta

Ingredients:

1 box vermicelli pasta

1 pkg roasted yellow beets cut into ½ inch pieces

1 pkg fresh snap peas

1 pkg cooked lemon or grilled chicken

2 – 3 plum tomatoes cubed

2 scallions sliced

½ cup half and half milk

½ cup chicken broth

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 tbsp butter

1 tbsp Adobo

1 tbsp flour

1 tbsp salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

½ tsp olive oil

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp dried parsley

½ tsp dried cilantro

Prepare per package instructions and reserve ½ cup of pasta water. Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a large skillet along with olive oil over medium high heat. Add snap peas, salt and black pepper then stir to mix. Saute for 1 – 2 minutes then remove from skillet and place in a small bowl and set aside.

Place skillet back on the stove. Add 1 tbsp of butter to the skillet and let it melt. Add flour to the skillet and stir until smooth. Pour in milk and broth then whisk until the sauce is smooth. Add Parmesan cheese and remaining seasonings. Stir to combine. Add chicken, yellow beets, snap peas and scallions (reserve 1 tbsp of scallions). Gently stir to mix all ingredients. Add pasta water to thin out the sauce if necessary. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer for 5 minutes. Serve over pasta.

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Beets are one of those vegetables people usually forget about because they are not considered “popular” at least not right now. Foods like fashion are featured as the “in” thing at different cycles in time. Remember when it was said that pork was not good for you then a while later it became the “other white meat” and was the popular thing to eat.

I really do like beets but I also forget about beets until summer comes and I am in salad mode. I love to have salads with dinner in the summer because there are so many beautiful fresh veggies available. I have thought about growing beets but I have not had the courage to do it yet. I have tried growing cabbage, squash and eggplant without much success so I stick to the veggies I can easily grow. Tomatoes and all kinds of peppers grow in abundance on our porch. I also grow a lot different herbs. Maybe next summer I will plant a few beets and see what happens.

Anyway, beets have their own unique flavor and sweetness. Depending on what we are having for dinner I will pair the beets with some other veggie or lightly season the beets and eat them all by themselves. I have two favorite beet recipes. My old trusty beet salad which is similar to a basic potato salad recipe but substitutes beets for potatoes. Then there is my more recent recipe of Beets with Arugula and Feta Cheese. I have been working on more salad recipes to help shake off the winter blues and get ready for summer. In the winter I focus on hearty meals and soup but spring and summer call for lighter meals with lots of fresh veggies.

Arugula is one of my favorite dark salad greens so I often combine it with several other ingredients to create unique dishes like my Chicken and Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce. In my Beets with Arugula and Feta Cheese recipe I mix beets, green apples and arugula which all seem to compliment each other. The sweet beets, sour granny smith apples, salty feta cheese and nutty flavored arugula satisfy all of my taste buds.

I am getting ready for summer. How about you?

Beets with Arugula and Feta Cheese

Ingredients:
1 bag arugula
2 cups cooked beets cut into wedges
½ cup thinly sliced green apples
½ cup feta cheese
½ cup mandarin oranges (optional)
¼ cup pecan or walnuts
¼ cup vinaigrette

Vinaigrette:
½ cup olive oil
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp minced garlic (optional)
pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

In a medium bowl mix together white wine vinegar, seasonings Dijon mustard and garlic. Slowly whisk in olive oil.

In a large bowl place arugula, beets, pecans, apples and feta cheese. Drizzle vinaigrette over salad then gently toss to coat with dressing. Taste and add more seasonings or dressing if needed.

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