Salads and vegetable dishes can feel bleh, especially in the winter months when very little is in season and the desired antidote to cold weather may well be a big bowl of pasta.
But these dishes don’t have to feel boring.
Saint Theo’s, the coastal Italian hotspot in New York City's West Village, that is now offering bring-your-own-wine brunch and dinner on Sundays, serves roasted beets and citrus, a vegetable side that's like a winter salad, that's sure to please. Whether you order in-restaurant to enjoy alongside a glass of wine you’ve brought along or serve it in your own home, this option will brighten any chilly day with pops of color and flavor.
The dish combines red wine vinegar–roasted red and golden beets — root vegetables well-known to have health benefits — with, as the name states — citrus fruits. Grapefruit, orange, and blood orange are all included in the recipe, as is orange juice. Pistachios complement the main ingredients and the dish is topped with marinated mozzarella ciliegine.
Saint Theo’s shares its recipe with Appetito readers in case you’d like to try this at home, or to inspire a trip to their lively restaurant for a Sunday brunch or dinner, bottle of wine in hand.
Roasted Beets and Winter Citrus
4
servings40
minutes1
hourIngredients
1 pound 1 Red Beets
1 pound 1 Golden Beets
1 1 Grapefruit
1 1 Orange
1 1 Blood Orange
½ cup Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
4 ounces 4 Mozzarella Ciliegine
3 sprigs 3 Mint
4 sprigs 4 Thyme
4 cloves 4 garlic
2 1/2 cups 2 1/2 Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 cup 1 Red Wine Vinegar
2 ounces 2 Chopped Calabrian Chilis in Oil
1 Tbsp. 1 Calabrian Chili Flakes
1 Tbsp. 1 Black Peppercorns
⅔ Cup Sicilian Pistachios
Salt, as needed
Directions
- For the recipe
- In two separate roasting pans, add the red and gold beets. In each pan, evenly distribute the thyme, garlic, black peppercorns and red wine vinegar. Add 1 cup of the olive oil and 2 cups of water to each pan. Add a good tablespoon of salt to each pan and cover with a lid or aluminum foil and roast at 385℉ for 45-60 minutes or until the beets are tender. This will vary greatly depending on the size of the beets.
- While the beets are cooking, marinate the mozzarella ciliegine with the remaining olive oil, chili flakes, a pinch of salt, and one sprig of mint. Marinate for at least one hour under refrigeration.
- With a sharp knife, cut the top and bottom off of the grapefruit, orange, and blood orange. Cut around the citrus to remove the peel and the pith, leaving nothing but the flesh of the citrus. Cut across the citrus to create cross sections of the oranges and grapefruit. Set aside.
- After the beets have finished cooking, cool and peel them. Strain the liquid and set aside 2 cups of it. After the beets have been peeled, quarter them, and cut those wedges in half once more. Continue to keep the gold and red beets separate to avoid the colors from bleeding into one another.
- Combine the reserved beet cooking liquid, the orange juice, and the chopped calabrian chilis in oil. Use this liquid to toss and marinate your chilled beets.
- For the plating
- Toss the beets, a pinch of kosher salt and a few torn mint leaves with the sauce in two bowls, continuing to keep the orange and red beets separate. Evenly distribute these marinated beets into four bowls, alternating between red and gold. Place five marinated mozzarella ciliegine on top of the beets. The next layer will be the citrus. Alternate the oranges, blood oranges, and grapefruit segments and garnish with more torn mint leaves. Sprinkle toasted Sicilian pistachios over the top of the salad and finish with a light dusting of sea salt.
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