If you visit the farmers’ market every week, you start to notice things like how the colors of the produce change as spring turns into summer. All of the Season’s Eatings recipes so far have featured almost exclusively green vegetables, because those are generally what come out of the ground first. Over the past couple of weeks, other hues have burst into the mix, with carrots, tomatoes, and strawberries lending their warm glow to the cool spread.
This week’s recipe takes advantage of the reddest of them all: the beet. The candy of the vegetable world, beets’ high sugar content gives them a natural sweetness that comes out best when they’re roasted in the oven. They pair well with slightly bitter or acidic tastes that temper their sugar, like kale, vinegar, and wine.
Some varieties of kale (like Lacinato) are more bitter than others (like curly kale). I used Red Russian here (which is not, incidentally, red), but any variety will work. It’s among the healthiest foods you can eat, and also makes some scrumptious chips.
My roommate inspired me to try piling everything on top of farro, a hearty grain with a nutty taste and a satisfying bite that you can cook just like brown rice (2 cups of water for every 1 cup farro). However, it would be equally good on top of any other grain—rice, quinoa, couscous, etc.
Farro with Beets, Kale, Olives, Walnuts, and Goat Cheese
Serves 4
4 small or 2 medium beets (about 1 lb.)
1 Tbsp. balsamic or red wine vinegar
Olive oil
Salt and black pepper
1 cup farro (or brown rice, quinoa, or any grain)
½ cup thinly sliced red onion
1 large bunch kale (any sort), stems removed, chopped into roughly 2-in. pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup Kalamata or other olives, pitted and chopped into quarters
½ cup chopped walnuts (toasted on a baking sheet in a 375 F oven for 5-10 minutes—until fragrant—if you like)
¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Chop off the beet greens if they are still attached and set them aside for use in Step 4, if you like. Wash the beets but do not peel. While still damp, wrap them each in foil. Roast in the oven for at least 60 minutes, until they feel soft when pierced with a fork.
2. When beets are cool, you’ll be able to peel their skins off easily with your fingers. Chop them each in half, then into 1/2 -inch-thick slices. Whisk together 2 Tbsp. of olive oil, 1 Tbsp. of vinegar, and a little salt and pepper with a fork. Toss the beets in this mixture.
3. Rinse farro (or whatever grain you choose) with water once or twice and drain. Put in a pot with 2 cups of water and a large pinch of salt. (Different grains require different grain to water ratios—check the package or Google it if you’re unsure.) Cover pot, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook about 25-30 minutes, until water is fully absorbed. Grains should look puffy and feel pleasantly chewy but not hard inside.
4. Sautee red onion in a few tablespoons of olive oil until softened. Add minced garlic to the pan and sauté for thirty seconds or so (until fragrant), then add kale to the pan and sauté stirring frequently, until leaves are wilted and tender (2-4 minutes). The kale significantly reduces in volume as the leaves wilt, so you can add leaves to the pan gradually if necessary. Sprinkle the kale with a pinch of salt and some grinds of black pepper while it cooks. (If you like, remove the beet greens from their red stems, wash them well—they tend to be gritty—chop them into 2-inch pieces and add them to the pan with the kale.)
5. To serve, portion farro or other grain onto each plate, top with kale and onion mixture, then beets. Sprinkle olives, walnuts, and goat cheese on top.
