Marinated beetroots with feta cream & pistachios
Vibrant starter or side dish to go with lamb or game meat.
Contrary to popular belief, we aren’t blessed with beautiful tomatoes, figs and peaches all year round in Turkey. Though we’re at the birthplace of agriculture and in a place where virtually anything can grow well, once October fades into November, the selection of fruits and vegetables leave much to be desired for a Northern European used to an abundance of sturdy root vegetables through winter season.
Sure, we’ve got a few nice additions which are summer veggies at more northern latitudes – cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage come to mind. But the selection of root vegetables is nowhere near that of an average Norwegian or UK supermarket. Not in selection – we’ve no parsnips, parsley roots or swedes (rutabagas), for example, nor do we have a range of varieties of potatoes or beetroots. And not in flavour. I’ve never come across a Turkish carrot that evokes the flavours of my childhood carrots from my mother’s garden, to take one example.
But! One shan’t complain. We make do with what we’ve got. Luckily, we’ve a rich food culture with a vast repertoire of flavour enhancers to make those winter vegetables a little more exciting. With a little assistance, even an otherwise very average beetroot can sing loudly and beautifully.
Three steps to punchy beetroot
For this recipe, I’m doing a few things to up the flavour of the humble beetroot.
I like to roast my beetroots on a bed of salt. Roasting intensifies the flavour, while the salt slowly and gently makes its way into the beetroot, adding more flavour still. You can boil them instead, or use already cooked ones from the supermarket, but be aware you’ll start at a flavour disadvantage.
Step two is to infuse more flavour with a marinade. Vinegar is a very common way to balance and bring out the sweetness of the beetroot’s natural flavour, but here, I’ve added more depth by taking a cue from the ingredients of southeastern Turkey.
The sweet and sourness of pomegranate molasseses is an excellent match, but make sure to buy the real stuff made from 100% (or as near 100% as possible) pomegranate. Unfortunately, considerably cheaper “pomegranate sauce”, essentially artificially flavoured glucose syrup (with a tiny bit of pomegranate for show), is more commonly available in many parts of the world. These substitutions are overly sweet and such an inferior product that Turkey has decided to ban them. Real pomegranate molasses, on the other hand, is more sour than it is sweet, and way punchier in flavour than the substitute “sauce”. A little bit goes a long way, so it’s well worth paying the extra dollars.
Sumac, a sour spice made from the dried berries of sumac shrubs, was widely used to add acidity to food before the arrival of lemons. This is where the comparison stops, though, because sumac has an incredible depth of flavour compared to the monotone acidity of lemon. Perfect for our marinade.
With the beetroot marinating, the final step is to add complementary flavours. Feta cream, a blend of salty feta cheese and tangy yoghurt, is a beatiful match for sweet and sour beets. A little pistachio add crunch, wholesomeness and colour, while greenery, in the form of dill, makes me happy just looking at the plate, whilst also adding a freshness that makes the dish feel even lighter.
Hope you enjoy! Afiyet olsun.