Pastrami Marinated Beets

We have the ingredients listed first for all of you who don’t want to scroll to the bottom…instead that is where my little story will go, lol.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lb Beetroots

• Pastrami Marinade

  • 2 Tbsp Cracked Black Pepper

  • 1 tsp Whole Mustard Seed

  • 1 tsp Whole Coriander Seed

  • 1 tsp Celery Salt

  • 1 tsp Sea Salt

  • 2 tsp Smoked Paprika

  • 2 Whole Garlic Cloves

  • 1/2 Cup Red WIne Vinegar

  • 1/2 Cup Cold Press Olive Oil

  • 2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Peel your beets and toss in olive oil. Then wrap in foil and bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 90 minutes.

2. Pestle the garlic, mustard, and coriander together into a powder.

3. Mix all ingredients except for beets in a bowl and set to the side at room temperature.

4. Remove Beets from oven and let cool. Slice and prepare into containers and pour over the marinade. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour and then into the fridge for no less than 24 hours. Will last you up to a week or more when refrigerated.

I cannot remember a time that I did not have a love for vegetables. Even as a child I always ate my brussels sprouts. Yet growing up, those veggies were always just a side dish and most of the time canned. Moreover, nothing much was done to them besides being warmed in the magic microwave and served with salt and pepper…not that there is anything wrong with that.

Now as an adult I see restaurants do the same thing with a seasonal vegetable, most of the time broccoli that is some how seasonal 12 months out of the year. I see fitness professionals promote their reds and greens because not enough of us eat a variety of veggies. I have lived in some great cities that are a far cry from food deserts and somehow it’s always the same vegetables in the produce section, leaving me to wonder why are vegetables just an after thought for so many of us?

So here is a simple and quick recipe that might take your forgotten beetroot not just to a supporting cast member but to the star of your dish. Most people think of pastrami as a type of beef but in fact it is more of a technique of curing and preserving meat as its root word means “to conserve food, to keep something for a long duration”. It comes from Romania (Pastrama) where ram’s meat was often used. While it is more commonly used on beef brisket in the United States, it doesn’t have to be just beef. So why not beets! The umami of these beets let you have these as a meaty side or in a dish. I plan on making a killer sandwich with them after they fully marinate, enjoy!