Last night our Locally Grown Weddings team was recognized by the City of San Francisco as a Green Business! As a sponsor of the celebration we served two season treats featuring Beets! It was super meeting so many green business owners in one location! We hope you enjoy the recipes for our Chipotle Pickled Beets and Moist Chocolate-Beet Cake:
Chipotle Pickled Beets by Chef Stephanie
Makes 2 cups
Ingredients
3 medium red or golden beets
2c Vinegar
1c water
1T Sugar
1T Salt
1t chipotle powder
Method
1. Peel beets, cut into thin wedges
2. Combine vinegar, sugar, salt and chipotle powder and bring to a boil in a medium sauce pan
3. Add beets to liquid mixture
4. Bring liquid back up to a boil and then cook for 10 minutes
5. Cool beets in liquid
6. Store in refrigerator (in liquid) for up to a month
Ingredients
8 ounces (240 g) beets, unpeeled, rinsed and scrubbed free of dirt
7 ounces (200 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (70% cacao solids), chopped
1/4 cup (60 ml) hot espresso (or water)
7 ounces (200 g) butter, at room temperature, cubed
1 cup (135 g) flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (the darkest you can find, natural or Dutch-process)
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
5 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
pinch of salt
1 cup (200 g) superfine sugar
Method
1. Butter an 8- or 8 1/2 inch (20 cm) springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
2. Boil the beets in salted water until they are very tender when you stick a knife in them, about 45 minutes. Drain, then rinse the beets with cold water. When cool enough to handle, slip off the peels, cut the beets into chunks, and grind them in a food processor until you get a coarse, yet cohesive, puree. (Note: If you don’t have a food processor, use a the finest holes on your cheese grater.)
3. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
In a large bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate, stirring as little as possible.
4. Once it’s nearly all melted, turn off the heat (but leave the bowl over the warm water), pour in the hot espresso and stir it once. Then add the chunks of butter into the chocolate and allow them to soften without stirring.
5. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl.
6. Remove the bowl of chocolate from the heat and stir until the butter is melted. Let sit for a few minutes to cool, then whisk the egg yolks together and briskly stir them into the melted chocolate mixture. Fold in the beets.
7. In a stand mixer, or by hand, whip the egg whites until stiff. Gradually fold the sugar into the whipped egg whites with a spatula, then fold them into the melted chocolate mixture, being careful not to overmix.
8. Gently fold in the flour and cocoa powder mixture.
9. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and reduce the heat of the oven to 325ºF (160ºC), and bake the cake for 40 minutes, or until the sides are just set but the center is still is just a bit wobbly. Do not overbake.
Let cake cool completely, then remove it from the pan.
Serving and storage: This cake tastes better the second day. Serve as is, or spread with crème fraîche and sprinkle with poppy seeds shortly before serving.
