Thursday 15 March 2012

Golden beet and apple medallions, pomegranate and frisee salad with apple-lime dressing (and apple sauce for dessert)


I realize this is slightly bizarre. Me, here, cooking and taking pictures and writing about it. I'm not a chef, or a photographer, or an artist or a writer. I have a crappy camera, a tiny, oppressive, windowless kitchen. A dishwasher that cannot open unless the fridge is also open. My dishes are hand me downs, old and scratched and mismatched. I work late, eat a lot of sushi and ketchup chips. Sometimes I even eat pizza pops, frozen pizzas or microwavable Indian food. So me, doing this, I know is weird.


When I had my concussion, and lost my memory, I am told I was very grumpy about the fact that I keep a blog. I claimed that it was stupid and that I was not going to do it any more. I still feel like it is silly. And I feel a little self-conscious every time I hit publish. Earlier today I felt especially ridiculous about my seven salads pledge. It just seems so odd. I have a list a mile long of things to do for my two jobs, I could use my time more effectively.


This evening I arrived at home (Mike was working late), pulled all of my ingredients from the fridge, and laid them on the counter. I had this idea to make a pureed apple dressing but thought maybe I just would not post it. I figured, no one except me really cares if I actually make and post about seven salads. Then I proceeded to make my apple dressing. I put pureed apple in a pot, simmered it, strained it and with the juice made a wonderful dressing. And somehow, unintentionally I had a delicious, warm homemade apple sauce left over.


I baked some thin apple and beet slices. They curled up, turned crispy and chewy and sweet and delicious. When everything was mixed together and I looked at my deceptively simple salad, I realized I had just spent an hour and a half in silence, thinking about nothing, just doing, and creating and enjoying myself. And I was so excited about the result that I could not wait to take pictures and write about it. 

Coming home at the end of the day, spending an hour or two in the kitchen, playing around, making a mess, composing a picture is fun. And the part where I sit down and write about my day is especially therapeutic. So even though this is silly, here I am; making seven salads for the pure fun of it.


Seven salads - Day 4
Baked apple and golden beet slices, pomegranate and frisee salad with apple-lime dressing (and apple sauce for dessert)

Ingredients
3 small apples
4 small golden beets, peeled
1 lime
honey
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
1 pomegranate
Frisee
Frshly shaved parmesan

Directions
1 - Preheat oven to 350F.
2 - Using a mandoline, thinly slice beets and one and a half (1.5) apples.
3 - Lay beets and apple slices on baking sheets covered with parchment paper.
4 - Brush one side of slices lightly with olive oil and bake. After 10 minutes, flip, brush the other sides with olive oil and bake another 10 minutes.
5 - Meanwhile, peel the remaining apples, chop roughly and puree in a food processor.
6 - Place puree in a saucepan, mix with the juice of 1/2 a lime, 1 tsp of honey and a couple tablespoons of water. Cover and simmer about 10 - 15 minutes.
7 - Puree apples again in processor, then place in a strainer positioned over a bowl, allowing the apple liquid to catch in the bowl.
8 - When most of the liquid is drained, whisk together with the juice from the other 1/2 of the lime and a couple tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Season with sea salt.
***Note: the remainder of the apple puree can be eaten as apple sauce, stirred into some oatmeal, yogurt or as a topping for ice cream.
9 -  Toss frisee (enough for two large or four small salads) with half of the dressing.
10 - Place frisee on serving plate, top with pomegranate seeds, apple slices and beet slices. Garnish with freshly shaved parmesan and a drizzle of apple-lime dressing.

2 comments:

  1. where do u get yellow beet in the market?

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  2. I usually find them at Whole Foods Market, but they seem more common in the summer. I have found them at other grocery stores but they are not around all the time. You just have to watch for them. It probably also depends on where you live :)

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