Sauteed Beets with a Raspberry Balsamic Reduction
Why not transform a simple vegetable into a culinary work of art?! This easy reduction dresses up the beautiful vegetable and makes it anything but a boring side dish!
Tasting the textures. Beets are an interesting vegetable in how versatile they are. Similar to a potato, these can be enjoyed mashed, fried, sauteed, pickled…you name it. And each way they are prepared seem to take on a unique flavor of its own! To play with this a little bit, I wanted the beet to be a base for absorbing other flavors, to see what type of new profile could be created. By sautéing, the beet picked up the oil and salt flavor, taming down its hearty earth personality a bit. This allowed the sauce and blue cheese to pull out more of the sweet elements, making for a delicious and interesting way of eating the beet.
The perfect timing. Because of the time required, I think reductions get a bit of an intimidating reputation in the kitchen. To the contrary, I think this can work in your favor, as it allows for time to do the other aspects of the meal without spending too much time here! If you are not using previously prepared beets, the timing of boiling fresh beets to the timing of the reduction lines up really well, so this could be on the back burner (literally and figuratively), while you are preparing a main course. Once the beets are peeled and sauce is reduced, the sauté and straining comes together very quickly, making this side dish ready to go as the main course is ready to eat. Timing in the kitchen is so crucial to any meal planning, and this is a great solution for just that!
Looking for other ways to use beets? Try out:
Beet, Blueberry and Basil over Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese
This recipe is a part of the Tour of the Markets challenge where I try to use seasonal produce in new and creative ways! Follow along the journey and discover some great markets here!
Do you have a great way of using beets? I’d love to hear from you! Post a comment below!
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Sauteed Beets with a Raspberry Balsamic Reduction
Equipment
- Sauce Pan
- Skillet
- Kitchen knife
- Fine strainer or cheese cloth
- Small mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 2 prepared Fresh Beets boiled and skins removed
- 3/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
- 3/4 cup Raspberries
- 2 tbsp Blue Cheese
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Using fresh beets, place in pan of water and boil until tender (about 30 minutes), and once cool enough to touch, remove skins. These should peel off easily. Set aside to cool. This step can be done up to a few days ahead of time.
- In saucepan, add raspberries and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a soft boil and then turn down to a low simmer. Simmer until the vinegar has reduced to about half and the consistency is more of a syrup. Keep in mind that the berries will help to add texture when it cools.
- When sauce has reduced down, pour through the strainer into a bowl. If using a cheese cloth, pour into and squeeze until only the pulp remains. Be sure and remove all seeds (although this pulp is great as a separate dish on toast, with cheese, etc so don't throw out!)
- Once the sauce is ready, in skillet, heat oil and add slices of beets to sauté on each side, adding salt and pepper to taste.
- Layer these on a serving dish and top with generous portions of the raspberry balsamic reduction, and top with blue cheese crumbles. Enjoy!
Tour of the Markets #7-Red Wing Area Farmers Market, Red Wing, MN - Goddess of Garlic
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