Serious Eats: Recipes
Cook the Book: Roasted Beet Salad with Walnut Dressing and Cheese Crisps
[Photograph: Caroline Russock]
This time of year there is a lot of hubbub about stone fruits, berries, corn, and tomatoes, but I'd like to take a moment to talk about two vegetables that don't get too much summertime recognition—the beet and Swiss chard. Tiny, sweet beets have been at my local farmers' market ever since the weather has been warm, but I'd been passing them over in favor of the showier fruits and vegetables of summer up until recently. It was only when I got to the market a bit later than usual and the tables had been picked over that I decided to pick up a few golden beets and and a bunch of chard. These vegetables have always been more geared to fall and winter cooking (in my mind, at least), but in the warmer months their flavors are much more sweet and delicate.
Once I brought the beets and chard home I turned to the pages of Farm to Fork by Emeril Lagasse for a bit of inspiration. And what I found was this Roasted Beet Salad with Walnut Dressing and Cheese Crisps. Roasted beets? Yes, please. But raw chard? I had never used it in its raw state, but the young chard that I brought home had much thinner, softer leaves that seemed like they would work beautifully in a salad.
I roasted the beets, scrupulously washed and dried the chard and set about making the cheese crisps. In restaurant lingo these cheese crisps are referred to as tuiles, which makes them sound much fancier and more difficult than they actually are. When it comes down to it they are nothing more than shredded hard cheese that is baked on a parchment lined baking sheet until it reaches a golden potato chip-like color and texture, resulting in the most delicious salad garnish ever—a cheesy potato chip.
The dressing is a mix of Dijon, shallots, sherry vinegar, honey, and olive oil smoothly emulsified in the blender. When the greens, beets, and toasted walnuts were dressed and the plates garnished with the cheese crisps, this salad pretty couldn't have been any better. The beets were sweet, the greens fresh and peppery, the dressing tasted vibrantly of all of its sharp components, and the cheese crisps added an elegant visual element and satisfying and entirely cheesy crunch.
Win Farm to Fork
As always with our Cook the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of Farm to Fork to give away this week.