Golden & Red Beetroots with Walnuts and fresh Tarragon!
Beetroot for me is the most inspiring and amazing vegetable. Easy to cook, super tasty, and very healthy. Beets are commonly known in the US and universally available around the world, but mostly forgotten in today’s day-to-day cuisine. However, and most recently, beets have been gaining in popularity again and are now categorized as a super-food. Studies claim that beets and beetroot juice can improve athletic performance, reduce blood pressure, and are beneficial to our liver.
It is important to know that the red color component in red beetroot, Betanin, cannot be broken down by the body. After eating red beets, urine and stool will be dyed red. But do not be alarmed as this will work its way out of your body naturally within one or two days at the most.
In many cases beets are best described as having an earthy flavor with a surprising amount of sweetness for a root vegetable. Some people describe the earthiness as tasting like dirt and dislike beets for that reason. However, when cleaned properly and cooked, that earthy taste goes away. Just follow the easy to cook recipe below and you will be amazed how great and delicious beets can be.
Red Beetroots
3 small to medium size red beets
1 cup fresh orange juice
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp anise seed
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp ground sage
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp cane sugar
2 cups filtered water
Golden Beetroots
3 small to medium size yellow/golden beets
1 cup fresh orange juice
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp anise seed
2 tbsp ground sage
2 tbsp cane sugar
2 cups filtered water
Trim the tops and stems of the beets. Scrub the beets with a brush and place the red and golden beets in a separate medium size saucepan (do not cook the red and golden beets in the same saucepan). Cover the beets with freshly squeezed orange juice, freshly squeezed lime juice and filtered water. Add the spices as listed above, stir the spices into the orange and lime juice and bring to a boil. Cover the saucepans, reduce the heat, and let it simmer for about 40 minutes or until tender. Drain each of the beet juices into a separate container and rinse the beets with cold water. Cool the beets and rub off the skins. Keep the beet juice refrigerated and use it for a delicious Beet Mojito!
Butter Roasted Walnuts
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 tbsp sea salt
1/2 tbsp black pepper
Heat the butter in a pan until foaming, add the walnuts, season with freshly ground sea salt and pepper and move the pan continuously to allow the walnuts to color evenly. When golden, pour the walnuts into a colander to allow the excess butter to drain off.
Citrus Dressing & Garnish
1 orange
1 lime
1 blood orange
Freshly ground sea salt and pepper
Fresh tarragon
Fillet the orange, the lime and the blood orange and keep the fillets of each citrus fruit in a separate small bowl. After filleting the citrus fruits, there will be a lot of pulp and juice leftover in the membrane of each fruit. Squeeze the membranes of the lime and the membrane of the orange in one small bowl. Squeeze the membrane of the blood orange in a separate small bowl. Add freshly ground pepper and salt to taste to each bowl.
The freshly squeezed blood orange juice is the dressing for the red beetroots; the freshly squeezed orange and lime juice is the dressing for the golden beetroots.
Plate your dish
Using a multi-knife vegetable slicer, slice the beets into spaghetti spirals. Marinate the golden beetroot spirals in the freshly squeezed orange and lime juice dressing. Marinate the red beetroot spirals in the freshly squeezed blood orange juice dressing. Put the beetroots into a colander to allow the excess dressing to drain off and plate first the golden beetroots on a large plate. Repeat this process with the marinated red beetroots and plate next to the golden beetroots. Scatter the beetroots with fresh tarragon, butter roasted walnuts, and lemon fillets. Decorate the plate with orange and blood orange fillets. Finish the dish with a pinch of freshly ground sea salt and pepper.