Viennese Beet Preserves Recipes

ROASTED BEET JAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. Peel beets and cut into wedges. Place in a 15x10x1-in. baking pan; drizzle with oil and toss to coat. Roast 50-60 minutes or until tender. Cool slightly., Meanwhile, rinse two 1-cup plastic containers and lids with boiling water. Dry thoroughly. Cut a thin slice from the top and bottom of the lemon; stand lemon upright on a cutting board. With a knife, cut off peel and outer membrane from lemon. Cut in half. Thinly slice half of lemon and remove seeds (save remaining half for another use). Place cinnamon and cloves on a double thickness of cheesecloth. Gather corners of cloth to enclose seasonings; tie securely with string., Place beets in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped. Transfer to a large saucepan. Add sugars, maple syrup, ginger, salt, sliced lemon and spice bag; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 1 to 1-1/4 hours or until thickened. Remove from heat; discard spice bag. Cool slightly., Fill containers to within 1/2 in. of tops. Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 12 months. Thaw frozen jam in refrigerator before serving.

FALLEN CHOCOLATE TORTE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Prepare a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper.
• Slowly melt the margarine and chocolate. Cool back to room temperature.
• Beat egg yolks and first amount of sugar until thick and soft yellow. Add the chocolate mixture slowly, and blend.
• In a clean mixing bowl beat egg whites and remaining sugar until stiff (I add the sugar while the beater is going, nice and slowly).
• Fold the whites into the rest in three stages. Pour into the pan and bake 50 minutes (give or take 10).
• LET COOL a few minutes, run a knife around the cake to loosen it, and cool the rest of the way. It falls, but I love the way the cracked top looks under powdered sugar.
• Serve cracked side up, or flip it and glaze it with ganache for a more formal cake.

WHITE BEANS AU PISTOU

Steps:

• Rinse the beans and soak in boiling water for one hour. Drain.
• Grind the first two ingredients in a mortar and pestle (or food processor) with a dash of salt. Slowly add the extra virgin olive oil.
• This is the "pistou" and can be poured in ice cube trays, frozen (pop out and put in a ziploc freezer bag to store in freezer) or use it the same day as you make it (It will fade in color if not frozen).
• In a pot that holds 3 quarts, at least, saute the garlic in the olive oil for a minute or two.
• Add the beans, salt and the stock.
• Cover. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.
• Uncover and check seasoning (I like to add fresh ground black pepper) and simmer for 15-25 minutes more (or until beans are just tender). Watch the liquid, adding more so that the beans are not ever dry.
• When beans are tender, but hold their shape, stir in the pistou.

CARROT REDUCTION

Steps:

• Simmer the juice until it has reduced by 1/2. Some brands (or homemade) will separate. Just whisk vigorously to re-combine.
• Add the rest of the ingredients. Heat and whisk to combine, simmering to desired viscosity.

SAUCE VIERGE

Steps:

• Stir together and season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste.
• Chill without adding the fresh herbs or serve right away. This will not hold for long once the fresh herbs are added. The olive oil solidifies in the refrigerator so it must be brought up to room-temp. before serving.

BROWN LENTILS

Steps:

• Rinse lentils and then par-boil them with water to cover and a good sprinklng of salt (simmer hard about 25 minutes). Drain.
• Meanwhile, in a braising pan, saute vegetables and garlic in the olive oil (cooking bacon first if using it) for 5 minutes.
• Stir in dried herbs and spices and 1 cup of stock. Bring to a simmer.
• Add the lentils to the vegetables and stock, and simmer, stirring occasionally until the lentils are cooked, (10-20 minutes more) adding more stock as needed.
• Check seasoning, adding salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with fresh squeezed lemon juice and parsley (I chose these because I serve the lentils with fish most often).

VIENNESE BEET PRESERVES

Steps:

• Cook whole beets in boiling water until tender, about 30 minutes.
• Let cool, peel and dice.
• Combine diced beets, sugar and ginger in medium saucepan and cook over medium-low heat 30 minutes.
• Add chopped lemon and continue cooking until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, about 30 minutes.
• Stir in almonds.
• Transfer to jars with tight-fitting lids and seal.
• Store in cool dark place. To be safe process in boiling water for 10 minutes.