Sweet Beets
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
According to my most recent casual survey at the farmer’s market, beets are in season in the spring, and we only have between two to three weeks left to buy them fresh and local. With the summer heating up, why not try to use those beets in a cool sorbet?
(image: Charmaine Pastry)
Okay. You may have just mentally balked and answered with five reasons why one should not try to make dessert out of vegetables. But without such innovative thinking, we might not have pumpkin pie or carrot cake – so lower your skeptical eyebrows and pick up your spoons, my friends.
Thomas Keller offers a great beet ice cream recipe with candied walnuts or you can try a less complicated approach with refreshing apple undertones. I recommend leaving out the cider and adding a mint leaf for garnish. With a lusty shade of red, beet sorbet makes a dramatic dessert and may just change the way you think about vegetables.
Not convinced? It could be much worse – lobster ice cream makes these beet sweets look tame. If you still want to steer closer to home (or if you don’t own an ice cream maker), beet soup with feta could be a winner for dinner.
Don’t take too long to work up your courage. These beets are going, going…
-Jamel Daugherty
Tags: beet sorbet, beet soup, bizarre ice cream flavors, farmers' market, Thomas Keller