Not what I planned but delicious
I'm a cooking show junkie and could watch the Food Network all day long. I had seen a recipe or two for beet sliders and thought I'd give them a try. I love beets, I love sliders - no brainer.
This beet is the size of a soft ball!
All of the recipes called for boiling the beets for an hour. I dutifully did so, and did it the night before I planned to cook the sliders. After the beet cooled I sealed it in a Tuperware container and put it in the fridge over night. This was to cut down on the prep time - I don't get home from work until about 7:30 - 8:00 PM and didn't want to be eating dinner at 10 o'clock.
Bubble, bubble toil and trouble!
The next day I removed the beets from the Tuperware - there was a nice amount of beet juice in the container which tasted delicious. I peeled the beet and cut slider sized slices - about 3/4".
Ready for the cast iron skillet
Wipe mushrooms clean with a damp paper towel - don't soak in water!
I like to do all the chopping at the same time -
so I act as my own sous chef before starting to cook
Mushroom topping
I thought of things I like to serve on top of traditional sliders and decided to serve them with the beet sliders. I got cremini mushrooms and sauteed them with minced garlic, a pad of butter and extra virgin olive oil.
Use a large pans to the mushrooms aren't crowded and can carmelize
Squeeze fresh lemon juice on top while they cook
The mushrooms came out so well they'd make anything taste better. You could serve them with oatmeal and they'd still taste delicious. Word of caution: Do Not Wash Your Mushrooms! They will absorb the water and you'll never get the char you're looking for.
How delicious does this look?
Change of plans
I grilled the beet as best I could but as I was transferring them to the oven it was clear that my slider experiment was a bust. I decided to quarter the beets and heat them in the oven. I started to think I would have been better off just roasting them.
Served with roasted asparagus, shallots, tomatoe, mushroom and lemon
But when I tasted everything together I knew I was onto something. All the other vegetables were roasted to a soft perfection. The beets had a more solid texture which juxaposed with the softness of the roasted vegetables made for a winning combination. So, instead of sliders, I'm calling this dinner beet steaks - they were certainly meaty and were the star attraction of this meal. And please note: while I'm calling them steaks, and beets are packed with nutrients, they are not a protein. If you serve this dish make sure you have your daily proteins at another meal of the day - maybe lentil soup for lunch or as an appetizer? Enjoy in good health!
So, I didn't end up with sliders. I think beets are too dense and moist to come out like a traditional hamburger when grilled. But I think this dish tastes wonderful anyway. A true vegan dinner that's filling, flavorful, multi-textured and a true Skinny dinner.
Ingredients
1 large beet
1 cup cremini mushrooms, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbspns extra virgin olive oil
1 pad butter
1 lemon sliced in half
Salt & pepper to taste
Method
Boil the beet with skin on for at least one hour
Remove from water, dry with paper towels
Let cool in the counter or put in a container in the fridge overnight
Cut ends off and peel
Slice into 3/4" slices
Grill in a skillet for a few minutes on each side
Transfer to 350 degree oven and cook for 10 - 20 minutes
Meanwhile, heat a skillet for the mushrooms
Add oil and butter
Add garlic, stir with wooden spoon
Add mushrooms - make sure they have plent of room
Stir garlic and mushrooms as they cook making sure the garlic doesn't burn - about 5 minutes
Squeeze fresh lemon juice on mixture and season with salt & pepper occasionally
Remove beets from the oven
Serve mushrooms on top
Another squeeze of lemon juice
Serve & enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment