I thought that I hated Joanne Weir's cooking style. But the other night I was watching the Create Channel (one of the few channels that our rabbit ears antenna actually picks up) and came across her show, Cooking Class. It was pretty good. It seems that all these years I thought Joanne Weir was Sara Moulton and Sara Moulton was Joanne Weir.
Joanne's show inspired me to do more with beets. A freshly-sliced hunk of gorgonzola from Pennsylvania Macaroni Company's cheese counter made all the difference. Generic blue is not the same.
Here is her recipe. A springtime harbinger of a summer of salads, perhaps?
Watercress and Beet Salad with Gorgonzola and Walnuts
- 2 pounds medium-size beets (red or gold), washed
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon water
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 small head radicchio, torn into 2-inch pieces
- 3 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
- 1/2 cup walnut halves, toasted
- 1 1/2 cups loosely packed watercress, stems trimmed, for garnish
Place the beets in a shallow baking pan and drizzle with the oil and water. Roll the beets to coat with the oil. Season with salt and pepper, cover with aluminum foil, and bake until the beets are tender and can be easily pierced with a fork, 60 to 80 minutes, depending on the size of the beets. When the beets are tender, remove from the oven and let cool. Pour the oil from the bottom of the pan into a small bowl and reserve. When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel the beets and cut them into wedges.
In the meantime, whisk together the red wine vinegar and the reserved oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. In a bowl, combine the beets and radicchio and toss with all but 1 tablespoon of the vinaigrette. Place the beets on a serving platter. Scatter the Gorgonzola and walnuts over the top. Toss the remaining 1 tablespoon of the vinaigrette with the watercress. Season with salt and pepper. Top the beets with the watercress and serve immediately.
Since I only used a quarter of the radicchio for Joanne Weir's recipe, I came up with another salad using up the remainder and added some leftover items in the pantry and refrigerator. By the way, taking off the outer layers of the radicchio appears to help limit the bitterness but this is definitely a salad for the fan of radicchio's distinctive flavor.
Radicchio, Walnut, and Macadamia Nut Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 1/2 - 3/4 radicchio, thinly sliced
- 5-6 radishes, thinly sliced
- 1-2 scallions, white and lower green parts, sliced 1/2 inch on bias
- 1/4 cup walnuts, toasted in oven and roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup macadamia nuts, toasted in oven and rough chopped
- Crumbled gongonzola cheese
- EV olive oil, good quality balsamic vinegar from Modena (makes a big difference)