CITRUS, PART II
Yellow Beets and Mandarins with Fried Shallots and Herbs (my fried shallot revelation!)
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Happy mid-week!
Last weekend I brought you a little citrus inspiration, and I’m following up with a second recipe that swings the winter-spring divide, special for paid subscribers because oh my word—I can’t stop thinking about this one.
I developed this recipe to go in the last post as a twofer, but when I thought about describing this dish for you, I knew I needed space. Words! Because there’s an aha here there is positively rocking my late-winter world: crispy shallots.
This side dish—boiled yellow beets (beet haters, keep reading—these are deeply sweet and toothsome), thinly sliced mandarins (from mandarins so sweet and thin-skinned you’ll want to eat the whole thing), a bit of radicchio and fresh herbs was fresh and delicious on its own, but just shy of virtuous. I stared at the plate for a few minutes before I took a single shallot and fried it in olive oil with Maldon salt and poof—like magic, this beauty of a side dish/starter (or main course, served with a crusty loaf of sourdough—for those going more veg-forward) started to jump off the plate.
Beet haters, trust me on this one. This dish will change you.
Crispy shallots are a thing of beauty, an easy add-on you can scatter on top of salads, soups, sandwiches, a pan-fried pork chop, grilled or roasted fish, a creamy hummus bowl, or a luscious savory labneh or yogurt dip—drizzled with herbs and olive oil. There’s almost nothing these tiny treasures won’t improve. They are just earthy enough but somehow decadent, too.
Browning a single shallot or two is faster than browning a bunch of onions, plus we’ll keep the shallots punchy, rather than letting them go completely limp and sweet.
A little goes a long way. Enjoy.
xx
Sarah
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YELLOW BEETS AND MANDARINS, WITH FRIED SHALLOTS AND HERBS
Whatever you feel about red beets, yellow beets are a different animal—much milder, toothsome, sweet, and deeply satisfying. They stand up beautifully against the brightness of thinly shaved citrus, punchy radish, and the hit of fresh herbs. But to really make this outstanding, the crispy shallots are not to be skipped. For a different spin and a tangier finish, pickle the shallots instead (using this technique; scroll to the bottom for a how-to).