Farm to table
(Credit: Wilshire Restaurant)
In the summer, immature beets are as sweet as candy, but come winter, the extra time in the ground imparts a fuller, earthier flavor. They’re still pretty ugly on the outside, all brown and hairy-looking. But out and about in the town’s best restaurants, they’re decked out in the season’s richest jewel tones, from bull’s blood red to pink and gold, and even crazy candy-stripes. Sometimes they go classic, partnered with nuts, bitter greens and strong, creamy cheeses. Or, they’ll push the culinary envelope, headlining in unexpected main courses. With so many beets, we could very well make entire meals out of them. Here are some items we would have on our “eat-beets” menu.
Soups
Borscht at Warszawa: We couldn’t put “winter” and “beets” in a single sentence without considering this signature of Eastern European cuisine. The soup at Warszawa is updated with lemon, dill and white beans, but is very traditionally un-vegetarian and made with beef broth—as bubbe would want it.
Salads & appetizers
Beets with horseradish antipasti at Pizzeria Mozza: oven-roasted red beets, marinated in cider vinegar, diced, then topped with grated horseradish, chives and mache. As a “cycling fixture,” it’s not on the pizzeria menu every night. Consider yourself particularly lucky if it shows up the one night you get a table in the cramped Highland Ave. quarters.
Beet layer cake at Spago: Softball-size Chino Farm beets are roasted with rosemary, rice vinegar, thyme and sugar, sliced into two-inch circles, then layered with warm chèvre. “Frosted” with orange reduction shallot vinaigrette and crushed hazelnuts, it actually looks like cake wedges atop microgreens. Go figure.
Baby beets at Fraiche: Served with mache, red onion and hazelnuts, the revelation in this simple dish is the house-made ricotta.
Salad of farmers' market beets at Wilshire: makes the most of beets’ riotous colors, bringing together yellow, dark red and orange on a single plate. A drizzle of honey blossom vinaigrette ups the sweetness factor.
Pastas & entrées
Cassunziei all’Ampezzana at Piccolo and Il Carpaccio: Chef Antonio Mure created the beet-stuffed ravioli—a dish that still has all the foodie boards buzzing—when he helmed the kitchen at Piccolo, then controversially took the recipe along with him with the opening of his own restaurant, Il Carpaccio. We think these beautiful reddish pillows are worth a fight over intellectual property.
Beet risotto accompaniment at Joe’s Restaurant: Raw beets are juiced in-house for the scarlet-hued risotto with manchego cheese which is served alongside roasted lamb sirloin and baby parsnips.
Entrée of beets and fennel at Elf Café: The beets are roasted, the fennel braised at this mecca of hipster veganism in Echo Park. Wild rice pilaf and a port wine reduction are finishing touches.
Red beet tartare at Madeleine Bistro: Beets as a beef substitute make some sense. After all, they only differ by one final letter. At this homespun Tarzana bistro, red beets are served like crudo with English cucumber and a tofu-cashew cheese crouton. So unique and tasty, you won’t ask, Where’s the beef?
What’s for dessert?
Beet financier cake at Blue Velvet: At its peak in the fall, this unusual utilization of beets is taking a break for winter. But we’re hoping to see its return with the first sign of spring.
