Read an Excerpt
Red and Golden Beets with Blood Orange, Endive, and Walnuts
Serves 4 to 6
2 pounds red and golden beets
1/2 cup shelled walnuts
2 blood oranges
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons orange juice
Zest of 1/2 orange
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/4 pound Belgian endive
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Trim and wash the beets and roast them, tightly covered, with a splash of water. While the oven is on, put the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven for about 5 minutes. With a sharp paring knife, trim off the top and bottom of each orange. Pare off the rest of the peel, making sure to remove all of the pith. Slice the oranges into 1/4-inch rounds.
Make a vinaigrette by mixing together the vinegar, orange juice, and the zest, finely chopped, and stirring in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel them and slice into rounds. Toss them gently with the vinaigrette, and arrange the beets on a plate with the orange slices and Belgian endive leaves. Drizzle over any vinaigrette remaining in the bowl, and garnish with the toasted walnuts.
Zucchini Fritters
Serves 4
1 pound small green zucchini
Salt and pepper
1 clove garlic
1 small bunch chives
Zest of 4 lemons
1 tablespoon potato starch
1 egg
2 tablespoons olive oil
Grate the zucchini and salt them. Let stand for 30 minutes in a colander. Squeeze the zucchini dry with your hands or wring it out in a towel.
Peel and chop the garlic fine, chop fine about 1 tablespoonful of the chives, and grate the zest from the lemons.
In a large bowl, combine thezucchini with the garlic, chives, lemon zest, the potato starch, and the egg, lightly beaten. Heat the olive oil in a nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. For each fritter, pour a generous tablespoonful of the zucchini batter into the pan. They will look like little pancakes. Turn them over after about 3 minutes, or when golden. Cook 2. minutes more on the other side. Drain on paper towels.
Chez Panisse Vegetables. Copyright © by Alice L. Waters. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.