Time: 30 minutes Serves: 4
Recipe By: NYTCooking
The sweetness of beets is wonderfully exploited in this dish, created by Michael Romano, the chef at Union Square Cafe. It’s a thick beet pancake, cooked slowly until the beet sugars caramelize and a crunchy, sweet crust forms, reminiscent of créme brûlée. A touch of rosemary does not diminish the sweetness, but simply adds a dimension to this versatile side dish, which is good with braised meats or grilled food or can accompany a salad as a light dinner.
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds beets
- 2 tsp coarsly chopped fresh rosemary
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 TBSP butter
- minced parsley or a few rosemary leaves to garnish
- Trim beets, and peel them as you would potatoes; grate them in food processor or by hand. Begin preheating 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat.
- Toss grated beets in bowl with rosemary, salt and pepper. Add about half the flour; toss well, add rest of flour, and toss again.
- Put butter in skillet; heat until it begins to turn nut-brown. Scrape beet mixture into skillet, and press with spatula to form a round. With medium to medium-high heat — the pancake should gently sizzle — cook, shaking pan occasionally, until bottom of cake is nicely crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Slide cake onto a plate, top with another plate, invert the two plates, and return cake to pan. Keep cooking, adjusting heat if necessary, until other side is browned, another 10 minutes or so. Garnish, cut into wedges, and serve hot or at room temperature.