Recipe by Sarah Epps
This vegetarian, gluten-free side comes with a dairy-free option, so it works whether you braise the beets in butter or olive oil. It's a recipe for self-worth, suited to a day when you want to treat yourself with real care, turning a humble root vegetable into something worth serving on a proper plate.
Serves 4 as a side dish.
Ingredients
- 1 ginormous beet, or a bunch of smaller beets, cut into 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch rounds along the beets' horizontal axis (so if the sprout and root are the north and south poles, cut along the equator and lines of latitude)
- 1 stick butter, or for the dairy free option, 1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil (adjust quantity for size of pan and quantity of beets)
- 1 small bunch herbs (rosemary, mint, or parsley all work well), rinsed, dried, and finely minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Zest of 1 lemon or orange (organic or unwaxed if possible)
- Flaky salt and pepper
- Optional: beet greens, washed, dried, and chopped
Process
- Heat a large frying pan on medium high heat (cast iron works really well for this recipe) and add butter or olive oil. When the butter is melted and starting to brown (or when the olive oil shimmers), add the slices of beets, spacing out slices so they have room to brown and not steam (you may need to work in multiple batches if you have a lot of beets).
- While the beets are cooking, mix the herbs, garlic, zest, and some salt together for the gremolata. When the bottoms of the beets are brown and starting to blister, flip them, adding salt and pepper to their cooked side. Adjust heat to keep from burning. When you can pierce the beets easily with a sharp knife, toss a handful of gremolata on top, let it sizzle for 30 seconds, and then turn off the heat. Remove beets to a plate or platter and add more gremolata on top to serve. If you have beet greens to work with, fry those in the same pan the beets were in, adding more salt and pepper, and serve alongside the beets.
