Author Notes
I love beets, but don’t get around to cooking them often because my husband hates them. Lucky for me, I had two great excuses to bring beets back into the kitchen - this week’s theme and dinner with my best friend, who loves beets and goat cheese (my husband hates goat cheese even more than beets). This tart wraps the classic combo of beets, goat cheese, and walnuts into a peppery and flaky shell. These savory bites are great as appetizers, a main dish, or even an after-dinner cheese course, especially for non-meat eaters. Don’t worry….my husband didn’t go hungry…he actually does like beet greens! —monkeymom
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Ingredients
- Pepper-Parmesan Crust
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1 cup
all-purpose flour
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1 teaspoon
kosher salt
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1 teaspoon
pepper, freshly ground
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2 tablespoons
grated parmesan cheese
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1/4 pound
cold butter (1 stick), diced
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2 tablespoons
ice water
- Beet Filling
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1 pound
beets (any color/type)
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1
garlic bulb
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extra virgin olive oil
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goat cheese
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walnuts, coarsely chopped
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salt and pepper
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1/3 cup
balsamic vinegar
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1
egg, beaten
Directions
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Cut greens from beets. Rinse and dry beets. Then wrap in foil. Wrap garlic in foil after drizzling with olive oil. Bake beets and garlic at 350°F for 1 hour. Unwrap and let cool completely.
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For crust, put flour, salt, pepper, and parmesan in a food processor bowl fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water while pulsing until just before the dough becomes a solid mass. Turn dough onto a floured surface and form into a disk. You can wrap with plastic and refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
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Reduce balsamic vinegar until it becomes syrupy (reduced to about 1/3). This happens pretty quick. Remove to small bowl.
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Remove peel from beets (they should easily slide off. You can peel directly into the foil and discard). Slice beets into rounds and set aside.
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Divide dough into 3 equal portions. Roll out one portion to ¼ in thick round about 6-8 inches in diameter. Transfer to a baking sheet.
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Cut roasted garlic bulbs cross-wise so each clove is halved. Squeeze out roasted garlic onto dough and spread around leaving a 1 in border. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
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Arrange 1/3 of beets slices in a round on top of garlic. Generously tuck goat cheese and walnuts between slices. Sprinkle with salt.
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Drizzle with 1/3 of reduced balsamic vinegar. Finely grate a little orange rind evenly on top. Turn and pleat edges over toppings. Drizzle with olive oil.
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Brush dough with beaten egg. Bake at 400°F for 20-25 minutes until tops are golden brown. Let cool slightly.
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Drizzle with olive oil and serve. A squeeze of orange and/or a sprinkling of parmesan is nice too.
My favorite distraction is to cook. Though science and cooking/baking have a lot in common, I'm finding that each allows me to enjoy very different parts of my life. Cooking connects me with my heritage, my family, friends, and community. I'm really enjoying learning from the food52 community, who expose me to different ingredients and new ways to cook.
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