Ah February, the Month of LOVE…

Last week I shared with you my love of Asparagus and Artichokes . This week I’ve moved onto the B's - Beets and Beef tenderloin.


I’ll start with beets. First of all beets in my opinion are completely misunderstood and, if you are like me and had only known beets by their pickled kin and then happened to taste one roasted, than you too share the knowledge, what we (us:)the secret society of beet lovers know……. beets are gooooooood!

Look I’ll admit. Only because I know I’m not alone, but… when strolling through the farmers market I cannot pass by a booth that has a neat stack of bright beautiful beets, and before I know it I am unloading my farmer’s market groceries and have one full shelf in the fridge dedicated to my beets, yellow, red, pink Yum!

Here is a Beet Salad with Oranges and Walnuts that is spectacular in flavor but simple which is what all a good fresh vegetable requires!

Beet Salad with Oranges and Walnuts
1 large bunch beets, 2 pounds
3 large oranges
1½ tablespoons olive oil
1½ teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ red onion (½ cup), sliced and quartered
⅓ cup walnut pieces, toasted and broken
Boston or leaf lettuce

Cut stems from beets to within one inch. Simmer beets in boiling water for 50 minutes or until tender. Pierce with a fork and when ready rinse in cold water to remove skin. Trim off stem, rinse, and drain the beets. Chop beets into bite-size pieces and chill separately in covered bowl. Peel oranges with a knife and slice in sections removing membrane. Put oranges in a small bowl and refrigerate until ready to assemble salad.

In a small dish, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, garlic, and mustard. In large salad bowl, gently combine the beets, oranges, onions, walnuts, and dressing. Chill for an hour or more before serving. Serve ½ cup portion on lettuce leaf.

Serves: 8 Calories: 120 Protein: 5 g Carbohydrate: 17 g Total fat: 6 g
Saturated fat: .5 g Cholesterol: 0 g Fiber: 4 g Sodium: 45 mg

Now, for the main course: I love beef tenderloin seared with sweet and sour onions and caramelized potatoes. Now here is the deal with tenderloin - it’s by far the tenderest cut of meat there is, boasting also the least amount of fat. The secret to really getting the most out of this often expensive cut of meat is proper seasoning and searing. Tenderloin is at its optimal flavor it cooked to medium rare this is when cut open there is a warm by raw center, believe me it’s to die for.

Here is what I do; I get a cast iron pan very hot, I coat two 5 oz pieces of tenderloin medallions very lightly with olive oil a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper and maybe a little finely chopped rosemary. I lay them gently on the very hot skillet. I let them sear for about 2-3 minutes undisturbed on each side. At that point I might throw a finely sliced onion in and some garlic and let them get brown. I’ll take the tenderloin out of the pan, finish up the onions and then add a couple of tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and another two tablespoons of water to the onions just to deglaze the pan and serve this over the tenderloin. It’s simple, it’s easy and delicious. Here is another Beef Tenderloin recipe you will die for!

Pan Seared Tenderloin of Beef with Red Wine Sauce

For each portion:
1 slice eggplant – peeled and sliced ½” thick
1 slice Prosciutto (optional)
3-4 ounces beef tenderloin
1 large mushroom cap

Unbleached flour
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons dry white wine
½ teaspoon lemon juice

Season tenderloin with salt and pepper, and dredge each piece in flour. Heat a pan and add olive oil. Sauté the meat to desired doneness and set aside.

Season eggplant slices with salt and pepper and flour each side. Sauté each slice in olive oil until browned on both sides, set aside (drain on paper towel).

Sauté mushroom caps in olive oil for 2 minutes, flip and sprinkle with white wine and a few drops of lemon juice. Sauté 2 minutes more.

Arrange sautéed eggplant slices on warmed serving platter. Cover each with a slice of warmed prosciutto ham. Place tenderloin slice on each. Dress with wine sauce and a sautéed mushroom cap. Serve.

Wine Sauce:
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1 tablespoon flour
¾ cup rich brown broth (2 packages low-sodium beef bouillon + ¾ cup hot water)
⅓ cup burgundy wine
¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste

Heat a saucepan first then add the butter. Sauté shallots in butter until just tender. Sprinkle sautéed shallots with flour and cook stirring constantly for several minutes. Stir in broth and wine. Simmer for several minutes or until slightly thickened.

Serves: 4 Calories: 370 Protein: 35 g Carbohydrate: 5 g Total fat: 21 g
Saturated fat: 8 g Cholesterol: 115 mg Sodium: 330 mg Fiber: 1 g

Soup #2
Butternut Soup with Coconut and Curry served with Apple Slaw

Butternut Soup with Coconut Curry
1 small butternut squash
1 Tablespoon light olive oil
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and diced
8 cups cool water
1 can light coconut milk
2 Tablespoons curry powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 Tablespoon per serving of Apple Slaw

In a large sauce pot heat oil and sauté onions until tender, add carrots, garlic, squash and curry powder. Let cook, stirring until curry begins to stick on the bottom of the pot. Add the coconut, milk, water, and salt. Let simmer until all the vegetables are fork tender and can be easily mashed.

Turn heat off and let soup rest for about 10 minutes. Puree soup using a hand held or kitchen blender until smooth and silky.

Apple Slaw
1 apple
2 teaspoons fine minced red onion
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Pinch of salt
1 Tablespoon honey

Shred apple using a hand held cheese grater or food processor. Combine all the above ingredients and mix well. Serve 1 Tablespoon of the slaw in the center of the soup.

Serves 6 Calories: 160 Protein: 2 g Carbohydrates: 28 g
Fat: 5g Saturated fat: 2.5 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Fiber: 6 g Sodium: 210 mg

Recipes of the Week

Pumpkin Espresso Bread with Pear Compote

Makes 2 loaves/ 32 servings
Ingredients:
1 cup Canola oil
2 ½ cups sugar
4 eggs
I teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup Espresso or very strong coffee
1 teaspoon Ginger
1 tablespoon Cinnamon
½ teaspoon Nutmeg
½ teaspoon Cardamom
¼ teaspoon Black pepper
3 cups flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 15 oz can pumpkin
1 cup walnuts

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In an electric mixer beat the oil and the sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, add vanilla. Beat well. Add the coffee. Combine the dry mixture together (flour, spices). Add one cup at a time to the sugar/egg mixture, add pumpkin and walnuts and mix well. Pour into 2 lightly oiled bread pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack for at least one hour

Hint: If you are in a hurry you can also bake this on a lightly oiled cookie sheet bake for only 30 minutes.

Serves: 32 Calories: 230 Protein: 3g Carbohydrates: 33g Total fat: 10g saturated fat: 1g Cholesterol: 25mg Fiber: 2g Sodium: 10mg

Pear Compote

4 pears, peeled, cored and diced
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup water
1 juice of lemon
In a small sauce pan add all ingredients and slowly simmer until pears are tender