beets

Beets with Mint, Ricotta and Pomegranate

Alliance’s chef James Bloomfield puts a fresh spin on classic ingredients for a delicious and fresh holiday spread. Try his beets recipe and find more creative dishes in the December 2017 issue of Traverse, Northern Michigan’s MagazineGet your copy!

Ingredients

  • 10–12 beets (small to medium size)
  • 1 whole pomegranate
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • Olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • Salt & pepper
  • 8 ounces ricotta cheese
  • 1 bunch mint leaves
  • 1 lemon (for zest)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash the beets and place in a deep baking dish, add 1/2 cup of water and cover with aluminum foil. Bake the beets for 1 hour, or until tender and an inserted knife comes out clean. Peel the beets using a kitchen towel to scrub the skin away. Cut beets into wedges or slices as desired and set aside. Using the same cutting board cut the pomegranate into four wedges and carefully extract all of the seeds. Add 1 cup of cooked beets to blender and purée with 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of sugar. Transfer beet purée to a heavy bottom saucepan and cook over low heat for 1 hour, stirring continuously and scraping down the sides of the pan to ensure that mixture does not burn. Once purée is thickened and has a deep rich purple color, remove from heat and transfer to a stainless steel mixing bowl to cool. To assemble the salad spread beet purée on the bottom of a serving dish. Place the remaining beets in a small mixing bowl, add a drizzle of olive oil, lemon juice, and season to taste with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Transfer beets to serving dish with purée, fill the empty spaces with dollops of ricotta and garnish with mint leaves, pomegranate seeds and lemon zest. Finish salad with a drizzle of olive oil and serve.

Photo(s) by Courtney Kent