Dinner the other night was a pineapple-curry glazed ham with brown-butter, parsley egg noodles, salad with a maple cider vinaigrette and a root vegetable bake. The bake was made of layers of roasted red beets and a saute of celery, red onions and garbanzo beans which was topped with toasted pine nuts and goat cheese before baking. The beet dish was the big hit.
Cooking at sea for long stretches of time demands creativity in the vegetable department. You have to be able to mix it up and you have to be able to work with root vegetables in a variety of ways since they hold so well over time. I am a big fan of roasting as it allows me to reduce the number of pots on the stove. Boiling water and rolling seas can be a bad mix. Roasting can easily be done ahead and allow for fast veggie combinations just before meal time. I also believe roasting vegetables gives you the tastiest flavors.
Roasted Red Beet and Goat Cheese Bake
12 medium, fresh red beets
heavy drizzles of EVOO and balsamic vinegar for roasting beets
pinches of kosher salt and black pepper
6 large celery ribs, medium slices on a bias
1 large red onion, large chop
1 can of garbanzo beans
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted with a touch of olive oil, salt and pepper
10 – 12 oz. of goat cheese
Trim beet tops (reserve for a saute in another meal! – they are great mixed in with kale or spinach), clean and place in roasting pan. Drizzle a light amount of olive oil and balsamic vinegar in equal parts. Sprinkle a few pinches of kosher salt and just a bit of black pepper. Cover with foil and bake until tender, usually about 90 minutes, check with a skewer. Allow to cool and peel/trim off skin of beets, then slice into thin half-moon pieces.
Toast pine nuts in saute pan and reserve. Prepare the celery, onion and garbanzo bean saute in the same pan with a touch of olive oil and salt and pepper. Saute until veggies just begin to become tender, keep them a bit crisp as they will be re-baked.
Prepare another roasting pan with a touch of pan coat and place half of the sliced beets in a layer on the bottom. Add the celery saute mix and then the next layer with the rest of the beets. Top with pine nuts and goat cheese and bake at 350 degrees until the dish is warm all the way through and the goat cheese just starts to brown on some edges. Bubbly goat cheese, yum!
