Volume 12, Issue 061 - March 26, 2007

Good Day Chef,

I hope you all had a great weekend. This week we are going to talk about savory vegetable side dishes. A friend of mine once wrote this about side dishes:

"They are the Carl Reiner to the Mel Brooks, the Ed McMahon to the Johnny Carson and the Pinky to the Brain. They are side dishes - never starring on the plate, but playing second fiddle and supporting the main item - an afterthought, at best. At least that's how some people see them. I don't! When composing menus, I find that the sides are what really pique my interest, and can turn a good dish into a great dish."

Wise words and part of the reason he is such a great chef. This week I will focus on vegetable side dishes. The vegetable side dish should not merely be a garnish of color; it needs to be healthy, tasty and it needs to compliment the main entrée and the starch, if there is one.

Today I will talk about two of my favorite vegetables...beets and spaghetti squash, as both are colorful and earthy.

Beets:

Sometimes beets get a bad rap because many people don't know what to do with them aside from the usual orangey-sweet preparations and, of course, pickled. If your first beet-eating experience was beets from a can...you most likely are not a fan. If you have ever gotten a beet stain on a good shirt or blouse, you might steer shy of them too. I say "Lay down your fears and buy some beets, with the greens attached." Nervous about the stains? Buy some golden beets.

Beets and beet greens are good for you in many ways. Their natural sugars are wonderful and develop nicely when they are roasted. Roasted? Yes, beets are delicious when roasted or baked. A great compliment to roasted meats.

I mentioned the greens too. Very small beet greens are a nice addition to garden greens for salad. The larger ones have a wonderful flavor and need to be braised or stewed until tender. I like to add whole garlic cloves to the braising liquid. The greens have nearly twice the potassium of whole beets and have important beta carotene and folic acid levels which can help ward off many diseases.

One of my favorite preparations is to steam them until just tender and slice them about 1/2 inch thick. Then I grill them, brushing with a little butter until they caramelize a bit. Add a touch of fresh sea salt and cracked pepper and serve.

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Basic Roasted Beet Recipe

Ingredients:

2 medium red beets
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
aluminum foil

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Trim the tops off the beets and drizzle with the olive oil. Season the beets with salt and pepper, wrap them in aluminum foil and roast until tender, about 40 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel the beets.

The beets are ready for use or for an amazing amount of different preparations at this point, and can be done in advance.

Roasted Beet Salsa for Grilled Fish

Ingredients:

4 medium beets roasted, skinned and diced
2 teaspoons finely diced shallot
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon finely diced jalapeno
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup minced fresh mint
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons lime juice

Preparation:

While the beets are roasting, place the shallot, jalapeno, ginger, garlic, mint, cilantro, lime juice and 6 tablespoons of olive oil in a small bowl and stir to combine.

When the beets are done, carefully remove the foil. Let cool, and then peel the beets by slipping the skins off with your fingers. Dice the beets and add salsa mixture, stirring to combine. Taste for seasoning.
 

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Spaghetti Squash:

Spaghetti squash  is another misunderstood vegetable in my opinion. I can't tell you how many times I have served it to people who have never seen, let alone tasted it before. It did get a boost of popularity during the recent low-carb craze as a tasty substitute for (guess what?)...spaghetti.

Spaghetti squash are a pale yellow, cylinder shaped vegetable weighing in between 4 to 8 pounds. I do sometimes see smaller ones in the supermarket and we buy those for our home use. They are another vegetable high in beta carotene and a four ounce serving has only 37 calories! Look for them to be about 4 inches in diameter and 8 or so inches long. The outside should be smooth, free of blemishes and soft spots. A green, unripe spaghetti squash may be bitter.

I like the shelf life of spaghetti squash—about one month at room temperature and up to six months at 55 degrees. Cooked spaghetti squash also freezes well. The cooked strands of golden yellow squash glisten like real spaghetti only dreams it could.

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This dish would go wonderfully with grilled sweet or hot Italian sausages.

Spaghetti Squash with Roasted Roma Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

1 large spaghetti squash
2 pounds roma tomatoes
4 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt
10 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup dry white wine
pinch of red chili flakes
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut spaghetti squash in half, remove seeds and place in roasting pan for 45 minutes.

Wash and quarter roma tomatoes and toss in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and kosher salt and place on a baking sheet. Roast in oven with spaghetti squash for 45 minutes. Remove squash and tomatoes from oven. Let squash cool for twenty minutes.

Sauté garlic in remaining olive oil until golden brown. Add roasted tomatoes, basil, wine and chili flakes and let simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove spaghetti squash strands with a fork and place in a bowl and set aside. When sauce is done, add spaghetti squash and toss. Season to taste and garnish with parmesan cheese.

Recipe by: Chef Sabra Ricci