Amanda Hesser's Beet Salad with Horseradish and Fried Capers

Close to six months of eating beets on a nigh-weekly basis will have you praising the heavens when the harvest season is over and you can finally go back to your supermarket ways, trolling the aisles for slim little green beans and heavy-stemmed broccoli, slinky sacks of frozen baby peas and the occasional lacy frond of kale. I love my CSA, I do, but its limitations are often evident; hard medicine to swallow for this seasonal evangelist. Still, relief from the never-ending supply of beets was much needed around here.

So it felt supremely odd, I tell you, to be in the grocery store the other day, picking out a nice little bundle of nothing other than beets. In fact, I'd say it felt much like a cosmic joke. Oh, bloggy blog, the things I do for you...

Truth is, I quite like beets, and miraculously, I've convinced Ben that they're pretty good things to eat, too. He used to think they tasted like sweat (his words, not mine), but not anymore. I take full credit for that, of course. Small victories must be celebrated, wouldn't you agree? But I've grown tired of my usual treatment (lots and lots of vinegar, a drizzle of olive oil, Maldon salt and perhaps some dried savory). And I've never really fallen in love with the whole toasted-walnut, slivered-blue-cheese-or-perhaps-feta thing that seems to be a staple now on so many restaurant menus. (I sort of wonder if beets get such a bad rap because of the things they're often combined with...but that's a discussion for another time.)

This recipe, which I plucked out of the pile back in 2004, offers a slightly different twist. You roast your beets, of course, and cut them into wedges, but then you dress them with a creamy dressing made of mustard, white-wine vinegar, horseradish, olive oil, and a little spoonful of sour cream. The dressing is, without the sour cream, quite something - an aggressive sauce that threatens to overpower the sweet little beet. But the sour cream rounds it out; gives the dressing some finesse - a calming hand, if you will. The beets, tossed in the stuff, turn an absolutely lurid shade of pink - no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the real color to come through in the pictures. Trust me, it was downright silly.

But the flavor? Far from it. A Franco-Russian collaboration, if you will, by way of the Mediterranean: this dish simply sings. It's got spunk and elegance and textural depth. Those fried capers are fussy, yes, but they provide a welcome saline crunch against the silky, creamy beets. Between Ben and I, this dish that supposedly serves four was gone in an instant - nothing left but a hot pink smear.

****

I was stuck home yesterday, sick with a cold and a pernicious sore throat and a teeny case of self-pity, when I got word that I'd been nominated for a Food Blog Award for Best Writing. Readers, seriously? I'm just speechless. And thrilled. Red-faced with bliss, if you're wondering. If you'd like to vote for me, click on this link  - you've got until the end of this Friday for your vote to be counted. Thank you!

Beet Salad with Horseradish and Fried Capers
Serves 4

1 1/2 pounds small beets, trimmed and scrubbed
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for beets and frying capers
2 tablespoons salt-packed or brined capers
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons horseradish, more to taste
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sour cream
Sea salt to taste
1 clove garlic, crushed (I'd do without this next time)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place beets on half of a large piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil. Fold the foil and seal the edges. Lay package on a baking sheet and place it in the oven. Roast until beets are tender, 45 to 60 minutes. (Test by poking a fork through the foil into a beet.) Remove from the oven. Be careful when opening the foil; steam will race out. While still warm, peel beets, then slice into wedges and place in a bowl.

2. Soak salt-packed capers for 10 minutes, drain, rinse, then pat dry. (If using brined capers, drain and pat dry.) Pour 1/2 inch olive oil into a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When oil is hot enough to toast a bread crumb in 30 seconds, add capers. Be careful; oil may sputter. Fry until capers fluff and begin to brown on edges, 30 to 60 seconds. Drain on paper towels.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, horseradish and vinegar. Whisk in 1/4 cup oil, followed by sour cream. Pour half the dressing over beets; mix. Taste, adding more dressing or salt, if needed. Rub a platter with crushed garlic, then spoon on beets and sprinkle with fried capers.

Comments

[Stephanie]

Oh, I know that lurid pink. The first time I was served the cold borscht at Veselka I laughed out loud.

[Mercedes]

Ooo, I love beets, I actually hesitate posting their recipes on the blog for fear I might have too many beet recipes featured and somehow get a weird beet reputation.
But I digress, while horseradish is something which has seldom (ever?) entered my kitchen, I can see how it would pair nicely with beets. Do you use fresh or the bottled prepared stuff?
And fried capers, I'm sold.

[Dana]

Haha, beet irony :). Beets and horseradish are so delicious together. This sounds great!

[Tammy]

I needed more beet ideas -- thanks for this. And congrats on your nomination!!

[Julie]

The best writing nomination is well deserved. Congratulations.

The beets I can't be so certain about.

[stacey]

thanks for a beet recipe! i also got tons of beets from my csa and was at a loss as to what to do with them (having never really even eaten them!) any other ideas would be greatly appreciated!

[Jimmi]

Congratulations on the well deserved nomination!!!
I voted for you the minute I saw it.

[Mary Coleman]

Congratulations on the nomination. You deserve it! You've got my vote!
Mary

[Mark]

You got my vote, but I don't know about the beet salad -- love the colors, but always skiddish around beets. Maybe it is worth a re-visit?

Good luck on the nomination!

[alexandra]

You are the best writer out there.

[Erik]

I LOVE BEETS! This sounds kin to what I had last night at Smiths: "roasted baby beets with Olive Oil, Balsamic, Creamy Horseradish and Walnut Powder"

And... Happy Birthday (early)

[ann]

See? I was so impatient waiting for your recipe I had to go out and makeup my own! Now, lets talk about that pumpkin pie challenge...
Yay you for your FoodBlog awards nod! You absolutely deserve it.

[Lydia]

Beets and horseradish sound terrific together. I usually do something sweet with beets, like roasting with honey, so it's nice to try a savory combination. My husband adores beets and would love your CSA if he could get them every week!

[deb]

Congratulations on the nomination--you know you have my vote! And Happy Birthday tomorrow! (Facebook told me. Facebook tells all.)

[gemma]

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! you deserve it all - a wonderful year, the BEST wrtiting award and MORE. Enjoy every minute of the day and bask in the glory of being wonderful you
xx

[Robin]

You deserve it, Luisa! I frequently think of your beautiful post about driving out to the nature preserve on Long Island. And happy birthday, apparently! Have a wonderful day.

[janet]

You've got my vote as well! Your writing always draws in surroundings and moods so easily that I really enjoy reading it.

[Luisa]

Mercedes - I used the bottled kind. It keeps pretty well. There was a sort of hard, crunchy top layer when I opened it on Tuesday, but I just scooped that off and beneath it, the rest of the horseradish was totally fine and fresh. If you want other horseradish ideas, I really love mixing it with cold sour cream and serving it with roast beef. Absolutely scrummy.

Thank you everyone, for your congrats and your votes and your birthday wishes. I'm just bursting!

[Sommelier]

Congratulations on your nomination. It was a pleasure voting for The Wednesday Chef!

[Hillary]

I usually don't like beet salad but this actually looks fantastic.

[Mercedes]

Thanks- I recently found out that Baltimore, where I grew up, is home to the first commercially prepared horseradish, and so I feel some weird sense of responsibility to go out and buy some.

[Michele @ FoodieView]

Thank you for another yummy recipe, Luisa! We are proud to have it included in this week's FoodieView Recipe Roundup!