Roasted Beet Caviar

If you've always hated beets, you're a lot like me: my mom had to nearly forcefeed me when homegrown beets were on the menu for dinner. Luckily, my husband and children didn't like them either, so beets were a non-issue in our household.

Then Joe and I went to Russian Tea Time restaurant in Chicago.

Among the many wonderful things they served us on the tasting platter, there were two versions of beets: a beet caviar spread, and an interesting beet-apple-pea vinaigrette salad. These were an amazing revelation into the reason why so many Eastern European and Russian peoples love the beet. Maybe this recipe will make a beet-eater out of you, too.

Ingredients
4 fresh beets
2 garlic cloves
2/3 cup walnuts, toasted and finely chopped
2 tablespoons lowfat yogurt, plain
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce
Salt and black pepper to taste


Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove paper from garlic cloves, place them on a roasting pan, and brush with olive oil. Scrub beets, place on the roasting pan, and roast in oven until fork-tender. The garlic will be tender in approximately 30-45 minutes, the beets in 60-90 minutes. Let cool.

Peel beets; finely chop beets and garlic and place in a bowl. Stir in all other ingredients. Marinate 6 hours in refrigerator, then serve at room temperature or slightly chilled. Spread on crackers or toasted bread, or serve as a side salad/garnish.

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Tashkent Carrot Salad

When we had an anniversary dinner at the Russian Tea Time restaurant in downtown Chicago, I promised to develop some of the recipes we love from there. The first one is the Tashkent Carrot Salad, a fresh, light side dish that will give you something new and easy to do with carrots. Adjust the amount of seasoning to your taste.

Ingredients

1 lb. carrots
1 tbsp. sugar
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 tbsp. olive oil
4 tbsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. ground coriander*
1/2 tsp. Hungarian paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Peel carrots and chop off ends. Coarsely grate the carrots, then mix with sugar and minced garlic. Combine the rest of the ingredients, and let marinate for 4-6 hours. Mix thoroughly before serving as juices tend to drain to the bottom of the bowl. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Makes 4 side servings.

*Coriander, the seed of the cilantro plant, is widely used in Mediterranean, Asian, and some African cooking. If you buy whole seeds, like we do, they can be easily ground in a coffee grinder or food processor, or mortar and pestle or molcajete if you have one. We like the seeds coarsely ground to add some texture and an extra zing of flavor.

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Beef Stroganoff

Beef stroganoff at 1:00

This recipe is a result of our lovely anniversary dinner at the Russian Tea Time in downtown Chicago. While everyone likely has a family-approved recipe for beef stroganoff, this particular version was developed by restaurant owner Klara Muchnik, in her native Uzbekistan. Below the main recipe, which is heavy in fat and calories, is our relatively heart-healthy version.



Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
3 lbs. onions, sliced
3 lbs mushrooms, sliced
4 lbs. sirloin or tenderloin
1/2 cup good Bordeaux, Cabernet, or Pinot Noir wine
2 cups sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
2 tsp. thyme, chopped
1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped
2 tbsp. dijon mustard

Directions:
Melt half the butter in a large saucepan until foamy. Sauté onions and mushrooms until soft and slightly browned. Remove from pan. Melt the rest of the butter until foamy, and add beef cubes. Brown on all sides. Add onions, mushrooms, and the cream and simmer 30 minutes on low heat. Add remainder of ingredients and simmer on low heat for 45-60 minutes, or until beef is tender. Serve with egg noodles or brown rice.

Makes 12 servings.


Low-fat Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 lbs. onions, sliced
3 lbs mushrooms, sliced
4 lbs. sirloin or tenderloin
1/2 cup good Bordeaux, Cabernet, or Pinot Noir wine
1 cup beef broth
1 cup fat-free sour cream
1 cup fat-free half-and-half
2 tsp. thyme, chopped
1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped
2 tbsp. dijon mustard

Directions:
Melt half the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan until foamy. Sauté onions and mushrooms until soft and slightly browned. Remove from pan. Melt the rest of the butter and olive oil until foamy, and add beef cubes. Brown on all sides.

Add onions, mushrooms, wine, and beef broth, and simmer 30 minutes on low heat.  Add remainder of ingredients and simmer on low heat for 45-60 minutes, or until beef is tender. Serve with egg noodles or brown rice.

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Russian Beet Vinaigrette Salad

Beet vinaigrette salad, bottom left.

This recipe is a traditional Russian salad that we've developed after our trip to the Russian Tea Time restaurant in Chicago. Though neither of us have ever been beet fans, this dish changed our minds about the lowly root. Serve this salad as a selection on a buffet, and see what your guests think!

Ingredients
2 fresh beets, about the size of a small fist
1 large potato
1 large carrot
2 small dill pickles
1 small can of peas, drained
1 small onion
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. fresh dill, chopped
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
salt to taste

Directions
Peel beets, carrots, and potatoes. Boil the beets in one pot, and the potato and carrot in another pot, so the beet does not stain the other vegetables. Cook until fork-tender, then drain and cool.

Chop beets, potato, carrot, onion, and pickles. Stir in all other ingredients. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours. Serve slightly chilled.

Makes 4 side servings or 2 main-dish servings.

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Russian Tea Time Restaurant, Chicago IL

When Joe was awarded a dinner for two for an excellent sales week, we knew where we wanted to go: Russian Tea Time in downtown Chicago. It's one of our favorite, romantic restaurants in the city, especially in winter-time when we're craving rich, hearty dinners. Russian Tea Time is on 77 E. Adams, just around the block from the Art Institute on Michigan Avenue. It serves a mouth-watering variety of classic Russian and Central Asian foods, and the tea menu is larger than a wine list in an upscale restaurant (our favorite is the coriander tea, a fruity, fresh blend).

The decor is just the way I'd picture an old-world Russian restuarant, if the restaurant was located in a storefront in a big city. The glistening antique samovars, cushy red booths, and balalaika music set a romantic, comfortable mood, and all the staff we've met, except the busboys, are from Russia or the Ukraine. If you choose a vodka tasting flight, it comes with a piece of dark brown bread, a gherkin, and instructions on how to take a shot the Russian way. Na zdorovje!

Joe and I had visited the Art Institute on our engagement anniversary, December 20, and decided to make reservations at this restaurant afterwards. Everything is good, even their beet caviar, though ordinarily I treat beets like you'd treat toxic waste. Since then, we have been trying to re-create the items on their tasting platter, and I'll be posting our recipes here. Hope you enjoy them!


Russian Tea Time platter for two: appetizers.
Clockwise from top: Tashkent carrot salad, stuffed mushroom, beet caviar, cracked wheat (tabbouleh) salad, apple-beet vinaigrette salad, chick pea spread, beef dumplings (pelmeni).

Russian Tea Time platter for two: entrees.
Clockwise from top: chicken pozharski, beef stroganoff, stuffed cabbage, Moldavian meatballs, rice pilaf.

Related Recipes:

• Beet Vinaigrette Salad
• Beef Stroganoff
• Tashkent Carrot Salad
• Parjoale - Moldavian Meatballs
• Roasted Beet Caviar

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