We have some lovely young beets coming out of the ground right now in Michigan. Having found me at home staring at a bushel basket of the things after a weak-willed trip to the farmers’ market, I decided to try this dish, served at the Red Wedding.
Green Bean, Onion, and Beet Salad
Martin’s description presents the three straight forward main ingredients: green beans, onions, and beets. Given its place in the dinner, I figured this was likely to be a cold salad. However, to get some extra flavor I roasted the beets and onions. The recipe below blanches the green beans so they stay green and crisp. A very basic vinaigrette ties it all together.
The sweetness of the roasted beets and onions offsets the punch of the vinaigrette nicely and the green beans retain enough of a bite to give a good textural contrast. In fact, I ended up with so much of this salad I took it to a neighborhood pot luck and returned home with an empty bowl.
Many have discussed how GRRM’s descriptions of food can foreshadow or serve as other literary devices. I can tell you from experience that after cleaning a few pounds of beets, your hands will look like you were in attendance at the Red Wedding itself…
preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Scrub beets and halve each. Pat dry with paper towels. Peel onions and quarter. Toss both together with 2 tbs of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place in a single layer on a shallow baking sheet and roast until everything is well caramelized - about 1 hour, flipping beets if they are starting to burn.
While the beets and onions are roasting, clean the tips off the green beans and cut into 1-inch pieces. Prepare an ice bath. Add beans to salted boiling water and cook until they just begin to become tender - about 5-10 minutes. With a slotted spoon or spider remove the beans from the boiling water and into the ice bath until cooled. Drain.
While beans are cooling. peel skin off the beets and slice into bite-sized pieces. Combine with onions and green beans in a large bowl.
Prepare the vinaigrette by mashing garlic along with kosher salt to form a paste. In a medium mixing bowl add garlic paste, vinegar, mustard, and shallots. Whisk to combine. Continue whisking with one hand while slowly pouring the olive oil in a stream. Whisk until smooth and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.
Toss vinaigrette with beets, onions, and green beans until well combined. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Adjust seasonings and serve chilled.
Ingredients
Directions
preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Scrub beets and halve each. Pat dry with paper towels. Peel onions and quarter. Toss both together with 2 tbs of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place in a single layer on a shallow baking sheet and roast until everything is well caramelized - about 1 hour, flipping beets if they are starting to burn.
While the beets and onions are roasting, clean the tips off the green beans and cut into 1-inch pieces. Prepare an ice bath. Add beans to salted boiling water and cook until they just begin to become tender - about 5-10 minutes. With a slotted spoon or spider remove the beans from the boiling water and into the ice bath until cooled. Drain.
While beans are cooling. peel skin off the beets and slice into bite-sized pieces. Combine with onions and green beans in a large bowl.
Prepare the vinaigrette by mashing garlic along with kosher salt to form a paste. In a medium mixing bowl add garlic paste, vinegar, mustard, and shallots. Whisk to combine. Continue whisking with one hand while slowly pouring the olive oil in a stream. Whisk until smooth and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.
Toss vinaigrette with beets, onions, and green beans until well combined. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Adjust seasonings and serve chilled.
