Being part-Polish I should love borscht. The beety flavor, the gorgeous red hue. It's one of the big staples along with my beloved pierogies and galumpkis. But I just couldn't get into it. I began to feel bad about this distaste when my great aunt came to visit from Poland and cooked for us. Years later, I still fear the soup, but since I've been on a huge kick to remove as many foods on my no-eat list, I figured beets were a good area to tackle next. That, and I got some beautiful ones in my last organic food delivery.
I searched the web and settled on Roasted Beet Salad with Beet Greens, courtesy of Epicurious. In the comments, a few people swore that beet haters loved this, so I had to try. It's simple, almost fool-proof. I got antsy and nuked my beets half-way through (it was getting really late at night), and I am happy to say -- they were delicious. The vinaigrette cuts some of the beet flavor, and is paired wonderfully with the garlic, capers, feta, and beet greens. When you do get some of the strong, beet flavor, it's much easier to take, get used to, and like. In fact, I'm hooked on salad now. It hasn't even been a week, and I've already picked up more beets. For other beety options, try this beet and goat cheese salad, or this carrot and beet salad.
Step two: Borscht.
8-05-2008 @9:21PM Lzbeth said... Thank you for the recipe links, I've been meaning to try something like these salads for years and just keep forgetting >_< I can't wait to try them with feta especially!
Beets were a staple in my family, being Ukrainians. My grandparents pickled their own beets, and they were served cold along side the plate of garlic dill pickles and onions. I wasn't overly interested as a child, to be honest, but I've tried more successfully of late.
But there was never any doubt as to the love and devotion for our beet borscht. Nevermind those recipes that are tomato based (blech!). That glorious pink soup, all tangy sweet but sour, makes me drool just to remember it. My attempts to duplicate it have been beset by set backs, but at least I'm trying.
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