This recipe was inspired by a HOMEGROWNer, Rachel, and comes from my weekly series: “CSA Cookoff“, where I create a new dish from the just-picked veggies in my farm share.
Beet Stacks with Minted Goat Cheese and Fava Bean Bacon Vinaigrette
(From HOMEGROWN.org)
Ingredients
- 1 bunch beets
- 1 lb. fava beans
- 5 oz. softened goat chèvre
- 1/4 lb bacon
- 2 T. fresh peppermint, finely chopped
- 2 T. Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 T. champagne vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. Boil beets until just tender, then let cool. Once cool, peel beets and cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds.
2. Combine chèvre and mint with a fork until creamy.
3. In the same water in which you boiled the beets, blanch fava beans – in their pods – for 5 minutes.
4. Transfer favas to an ice water bath to stop their cooking.
5. Shell the fava beans, then peel tough outer skin by slitting one end of the skin, then squeezing the tender bean out. Also retain the tender little lobe that connects the bean to the pod — it’s tender and tasty, too!
6. Cook bacon until crisp and chop finely. Combine with oil and vinegar, adding salt and pepper to taste. Pour vinaigrette over fava beans and gently mix.
7. Spread a thick layer of the chevre-mint mixture on top of each beet slice, taking care to stack them in a way that they form the “original” beet shape again.
8. Serve with fava bean vinaigrette mixture and mint garnish.
