I love beets in almost any form - baked, boiled. raw, pickled, shredded, mashed. The colors alone make me happy. Every shade of red, yellow, orange, white, purple. Sometimes, even green.
I try to use them as much as I can.
In spring beets are small and very sweet and the greens are tender, perfect for eating raw or using as leaf wrappers. Come September/October however, the roots can be very large and sometimes woody. The greens are either wilted or missing altogether. So when it comes to making stuffed beet leaves for the holiday of Sukkot, I do a lot of hunting in the green markets to find good, hard beetroot and bright green leaves. And if the leaves aren't usable, I rely on red chard.
This recipe is very much a result of my love for cabbage rolls and my desire to mix it up a bit this year and try something lighter. I started out with the intention of making beet kubbeh soup, an Iraqi Jewish dish much loved at this time of year. I bought all the ingredients and was prepared to make the kubbeh when I decided I had better sample this soup in an Iraqi restaurant so I had some idea of the real thing. Good thing I went.
The dish was delicious, but sadly, heavy with semolina and meat and not what I was hoping for. But it did give me an idea. Skip the meat, use the semolina or grain as a filling and make the beets the star.
BT's Stuffed Beet Leaves
Ingredients:
For the broth:
2 large red beets
juice of half a lemon
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups filtered water
For the filling:
1 1/2 cups cooked wheat berries (pearl barley, faro, rice)
1 scallion
1/2 small red chili
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/4 cup dried cranberries - roughly chopped
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
For the leaves:
Fresh green beet leaves - approximately 15 large leaves (10-12 large red chard leaves)
1 raw beet
1 teaspoon olive oil
pinch of salt
Directions:
Broth: Make 2 hours before making the rolls
Peel and dice beets
Add sugar, salt and water
Bring to boil and reduce flame and let simmer for 20 minutes
Remove from flame and reserve
When totally cool, add lemon juice
Filling:
Combine all the ingredients and refrigerate for 30 minutes
Leaves:
Wash leaves and cut into 4x5 inch pieces. If using red chard, blanch leaves in boiling water for 30 second to soften fibers. Drop hot leaves in ice water to stop the cooking process. Remove main vein before cutting into 4X5 inch pieces
Assemble:
Turn oven to 350 F.
Peel beet and slice very thin with a mandolin if possible.
Sprinkle salt and oil on beet slices
Layers the beets in the bottom of a baking dish.
Place a very small amount of filling inside each leaf and roll, making sure there are no breaks in the seal
Place rolls in pan on top of sliced beets making sure they are snuggled up against each other
When all leaves are used gently pour broth over beet rolls.
Bake 30-60 minutes depending on desired texture - chewy or extremely soft
Serve with sour cream / tzaziki / blue cheese dressing
Enjoy! !בתיאבון
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