Baby Beets and Sugar Snap Peas with Orange Butter

Filed under: Delicious Bite, Tagged as: beets, delicious bite, peas, salad

Sweet and smooth baby beets--red, yellow, and orange--added to sugary sugar snap peas tossed with a tangy orange zest dressing and you have a seasonal salad that says Spring! You'll have to search to find someone who doesn't like this salad.

Baby beets and sugar snap peas are just hitting their peak in the garden. If you don't grow these, head to the farmers' market where they will be easy pickin' this time of year.

We had our first supper club meeting of the season this past Saturday evening, so Becky was at the Ferry Building farmers' market about mid-morning to pick up the beets and sugar snaps. These were fresh picked the day before.

Baby beets--about the size of a walnut--are tender, sweet, and juicy--better tasting than large ones. Choose a bunch--6 or 8 will do--all about the same size for even cooking. For this salad, the beets were individually wrapped in foil and roasted in the oven at 400ºF for about 45 minutes and then cooled in advance.

Sugar snap peas--you eat the entire pod, no shelling required--are perfect when the pods have just plumped. You'll want to serve these within a day of harvest to enjoy the pods' natural sweetness. About a half-pound or two cups of sugar peas will do.

Our friends Lonnie and Bruce supplied a navel orange from their backyard tree for our orange zesty dressing. You'll only need a few slivers of zest and a tablespoon of juice, so the sections are sweet snacking while preparing the salad.

Once in the kitchen, Anna was in charge of the beets and I handled the sweet peas. Becky was busy searing the ahi tuna on the grill which was a perfect match for this salad. We find that conversation and the division of duties make the supper club a fun place to improvise seasonal recipes.

So here’s what you’ll need to get this salad on the table:

Ingredients

6-8 baby beets, roasted and cut into julienne strips (about 1 cup)

½ pound sugar snap peas (about 2 cups), tips removed

1 orange

½ teaspoon finely shredded orange peel, or zest

1 tablespoon orange juice

2 teaspoons sugar

⅛ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon ground ginger

⅛ teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon margarine or butter

Directions

Wrap baby beets individually in foil and roast in 400ºF oven until just tender when pierced, about 45 minutes. Set aside to cool. When cooled peel and julienne the beets.

Zest the orange and set aside the juice from one or two sections. You can now snack on the rest of the orange while preparing the beets and sugar snaps.

In a small mixing bowl combine orange peel, orange juice, sugar, salt, ginger, and pepper. Just stir.

Add the sugar snap peas to a small amount of boiling, salted water and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until just crisp-tender. Drain well.

Combine the beets and sugar snap peas, add margarine or butter, and drizzle the dressing. Toss lightly to coat.

Posted by Stephen Albert on May 12, 2008 under: Delicious Bite , Tagged as: beets, delicious bite, peas, salad
Permalink | Comments (0) | Email to a friend | Print