Monday, January 16, 2012

Baby Beets & Creamed Leeks

After a day of cooking some of my sister's favorite foods for her surprise birthday dinner, I had forgotten two lonesome ingredients. I thought how good creamed leeks would be, and realized how the beet's meatiness would accompany the buttered leeks perfectly. Vibrant in color, these appetizers look beautiful and taste full-bodied with organic flavor. Surprisingly they were a hit and gone pretty quickly.  
Ingredients
3 large leeks
3 tbs olive oil
1 tbs kosher salt
3/4 c buttermilk
1 tbs unsalted butter
1/2 c mozzarella 
1/2 c cheddar
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch black pepper
4 baby beets 
Directions
1. Boil the beets until just done. The skin should be soft and easily removable with fingers. Run cold water over the beets and remove the skin. Dry the beets with a paper towel and slice them. broil the beet slices for fifteen minutes until they are just crisp and dry.
2. Discard the tops of the leeks. rinse, halve, and chop the bottoms. dry and add to a medium-size saucepan. add salt, and olive oil. cover the saucepan with a lid and leave the flame on a medium temperature. Once the leeks begin to brown and finish sautéing, add the buttermilk, and unsalted butter.
3. Uncover the pot and add the mozzarella, cheddar, nutmeg, black pepper and stir. One the mixture is thick and creamy turn off the heat and let it cool. Top the beet slices with the creamed leeks.
Bon Appétit!

4 comments:

  1. One of your best creations ever!!! Obsessed.

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  2. Loving this weird beet / leek combination. So unexpectedly delicious !

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  3. these were insane, I ate them all!

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  4. made them..loved them~thanks

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