Rick Bayless is chef of Frontera Grill and Topolobampo in Chicago, creator of Frontera gourmet foods, cookbook author and host of Mexico - One Plate at a Time.

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RICKMAIL - sign up for our email list From the Kitchen of Chef Rick Bayless

Salads and Dressings

Roasted Beet Salad with Red Onion, Poblano and Lime

Ensalada de Betabel, Cebolla Morada , Poblano y Limon

Makes about 3 cups, serving 6 to 8 as a tapa

Rick demoed this recipe at the Green City Market.  He used a locally made cheese from Brunkow called Pave Henri which was a great substitution to the young manchego.  It's a cheese made from the milk of Jordanal Farms Jersey Cows which is one of our grantees from 2009 and 2010. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds small beets (about 1 1/2 inches in diameter), well-scrubbed, stem- and root-ends trimmed, quartered (you’ll have about 4 loosely packed cups)
1 large red onion, sliced 1/4-inch thick
2 poblano chiles
1/3 cup olive oil
2 to 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, preferably freshly ground
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
About 2 ounces young manchego cheese 

Directions

Roast the vegetables.  Heat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the beets, onion and poblanos.  In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.  Drizzle over the mixture and toss (I like to use my hands here) to coat everything evenly break the onion apart.  Scoop onto a rimmed baking sheet, slide in the oven and roast, stirring carefully every 10 minutes, until the poblano is blistered and soft, about 20 minutes.  Remove the chiles, then continue roasting, stirring every 10 minutes, until the beets are tender, 20 to 30 minutes more.  Cool.

When the chiles are cool enough to handle, peel off the blistered skin, pull out the stems and seed pods, then quickly rinse to remove any stray seeds and bits of skin.  Cut into 1/4-inch slices about 2 inches long.

Finish the salad.  In a wide shallow serving bowl, combine the beets, onion and poblanos.  Drizzle with the lime juice, sprinkle with the cilantro and toss to combine.  Taste and season with more salt and pepper if you think necessary.  With a vegetable peeler, shave shards of manchego over the salad.  Your Roasted Beet Salad is ready to serve.

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