Erica De Mane

Formanova beets at the Union Square Greenmarket.

Recipe: Beets with Walnut Rosemary Vinaigrette and Pepato

While sweating through the Greenmarket the other day, I found myself incredibly attracted to some bunches of beets that looked just like fat red hot dogs. What will these lonely farmers come up with next? Well, I immediately thought, those would be easy to slice into neat little rounds. When I asked the farmer who grew the odd beets what variety they were, he said they were known as slicing beets (and one of his worker girls giggled idiotically and added “weenie beets.” Well, obviously). The weenie beet turns out to be a variety called Formanova, one of several cylindrical beets that have actually been around for quite a while. I was amazed that I hadn’t come across them before. Live and learn. I had to have some of them, because of their shape, for sure, but also because they were a very dark red. There’s no vegetable more beautiful than a ruby-colored beet. When cooked, they’re very close in color to my favorite flower, the understated crimson dahlia (am I a guinea, or what?).

Crimson dahlias next to a copy of one of my all-time favorite Italian cookbooks, Italian Cooking in the Grand Tradition, by Jo Bettoja.

As gorgeous as red beets are, they’re of limited use in the kitchen (although I’m not quite sure where else they would be of any use at all). You can’t compose easily with red beets, since everything you toss or stir into them becomes uniformly red. I did once make spaghetti with red beets and thought it beautiful. The spaghetti turned bright pink, while the beet cubes stayed dark. It made a lovely contrast, but that was an exception to my usual murkier red beet compositions. I love all sorts of cheeses paired with beets, especially strong Italian ones such as pecorino Sardo or gorgonzola, or the pepato I chose for this recipe. I don’t like my cheese covered with red blotches, but there is a solution (aside from using yellow or orange beets, which to my palate lack taste). Just toss the beets with things that look nice tinted bright red or pink, such as red onions or slivers of garlic, and then plop any other things, like gorgonzola or green lettuce, on top of or around them, and eat it all right away, before everything becomes a big bloody mess.

Beets with Walnut Rosemary Vinaigrette and Pepato

(Serves 4 as a first course)

A note about walnut oil: I don’t know about you, but I don’t use walnut oil often. Every once in a while, though, it’s just the thing. I guess it goes without saying that it’s great on walnuts. It also blends well with beets and all sorts of lettuce salads. It turns rancid quickly, so I buy it in small amounts. I especially like the walnut oil packaged by L’Olivier. It has a fresh, pure taste, and it comes in small tins, so I can manage to use it all before it goes off.

5 Formanova or medium-size round red beets
Extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons walnut oil
½ cup very fresh walnut halves (taste one to make sure it isn’t bitter)
3 small sprigs rosemary, the leaves well chopped
Salt
A generous pinch of sugar
Black pepper
1 red shallot, thinly sliced
A small palmful of capers, rinsed
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon honey
1 large head frisée lettuce, torn into pieces
A chunk of pepato cheese

Wrap the beets in aluminum foil, and place them on a sheet pan in a preheated 400-degree oven until tender, about 40 minutes. If you’d rather not turn on your oven, boil them instead. When the beets are tender, run them under cold water briefly, just to cool them, and then peel off their skins. Cut them into not too thin slices, and place them in a large, wide bowl. Drizzle on a tablespoon of olive oil, and season with a pinch of salt. Give them a gentle toss.

In a medium skillet, heat a tablespoon of walnut oil over medium flame. Add the walnuts, about half of the rosemary, and a little salt and black pepper, and sauté until fragrant and lightly toasted, about a minute or so. Sprinkle on the sugar, and sauté a few seconds longer. Spread the walnuts out on a large plate or counter, so they can cool for a minute or so without sticking together. Then add the walnuts, sliced shallot, and capers to the beets.

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, honey, salt, black pepper, and the remaining 2 tablespoons of walnut oil and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Pour three quarters of this over the beets, and toss gently. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the remaining vinaigrette, and give it another quick whisk.

Place the frisée in a bowl, and pour the remaining vinaigrette over it (the dressing for the greens will be a bit less acidic than that used for the beets, since the sugar content in the beets means you need a slightly more assertive dressing). Toss gently. Divide the frisée onto four salad plates. Top each salad with some beets, and then slice several big shavings of pepato over each salad. Serve right away.