In markets all over France, I saw stalls with freshly boiled and peeled beets, which saves cooks from dyeing their hands the telltale pink that comes from handling beets. Since we seldom have this convenience in America, I prefer to roast my beets to intensify their earthy flavor, and then carefully peel and cut them. Beets and cumin marry well and look beautiful when sprinkled with lots of green cilantro.
Recipe information
Yield
6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Step 2
Scrub the beets, and, keeping them whole with an inch or so of the bottoms still attached, place on the baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons of the oil, and roast for an hour, or until tender when pierced with a fork. Cool, peel, and cut into bite-sized pieces.
Step 3
To make the vinaigrette, purée two-thirds of the cooked beets with the lemon and orange juice, the balsamic vinegar, the garlic, the cumin, the sweet paprika, the salt, the pepper, and the remaining olive oil. This can be done a day in advance.
Step 4
Just before serving, toss the rest of the beets with the vinaigrette. Adjust the seasonings and garnish with the cilantro or parsley. Serve alone or as one of several colorful salads, such as the red salade juive (see page 92) and the orange Tunisian carrot salad (see page 112).
