Beets and Greens with Whipped Feta Spread
- 1 bunch beets (about 4 large), with greens attached
- Olive oil, for coating the beets
- 1 tablespoon walnut or extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons champagne vinegar
- ½ cup toasted pine nuts, plus more for garnish
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- ½ cup (4 ounces) feta cheese, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons walnut or extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
- Whole milk, as needed
Instructions:
A nice change from your usual crostini, this recipe uses roasted beet slices to stand in place of the toasted bread base.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Cut off the beet greens flush with the top of each beet and set aside. Scrub the beets clean. Rub a bit of olive oil on the beets, wrap them all together tightly in foil, and bake until a toothpick stuck into the beets slides in and out with little resistance, 45 minutes to an hour. A good roasted beet is just tender, not cooked to death. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- To make the feta spread, in a food processor, pulse the feta a few times to break it up. Add the cream cheese, walnut oil, and vinegar and process until smooth. (Alternatively, use a strong arm and a whisk to break up the feta, then to beat all the ingredients together.) Add milk as needed to thin the mixture to a spreadable consistency.
- Chop off the stalk of the beet greens, discarding any yellow pieces, and finely chop up the green parts. Toss the greens with the walnut oil, vinegar, the pine nuts, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Set in the fridge until ready to use.
- When the beets are cool to the touch, peel off the skins, which should actually just slide off the flesh at this point. Slice the beets horizontally into ¼-inch rounds, discarding the end pieces so you are left with even discs. Put the whipped cheese in a resealable plastic bag and cut off a small corner to create a makeshift piping bag (it’s best to err on the small side, so you don’t end up with a too-thick layer of cheese on each beet). Pipe a ring of the whipped cheese around the border of each beet and pile a heaping spoonful of the greens in the center (the cheese border should help keep the greens in place). Garnish with more pine nuts and serve at once.