Beet & Tomato Ragu

By á-28984

This dish is a nice balance of savory and sweet. The beets and tomatoes play very well together and give the dish a nice underlying sweetness balanced by the tartness of the goat cheese. The vinegar provides some nice acidity while the tarragon provides a nice herbal quality to finish the dish.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter/olive oil
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 TBSP tomato paste
• 1 TBSP brown sugar or honey
• 2 TBSP Fresh tarragon
• 2 clove garlic, minced
• 4 large red beets, roasted
• 1 can diced tomatoes with juice
• 2 TBSP balsamic or aged red wine vinegar
• Beet Greens and/or kale braised
• 1 cup polenta
• 1/2 cup milk or cream
• 2 cups water/stock
• fresh ground black pepper/salt to taste
• Goat Cheese/Chevre'

Details

Preparation time 30mins
Cooking time 30mins

Preparation

Step 1

Melt butter in a medium pan. Add onions and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until it starts to color-about 7 min.

Stir in the tomato paste, brown sugar (honey), tarragon, and garlic. Simmer until the onions are soft.

Add beets and tomatoes. Season with 1/4 tsp salt more or less and some fresh ground pepper. Simmer until beets are tender, about 25 min, adding some water if needed so that it remains saucy.

Add some vinegar and adjust the flavor with more tarragon and/or tomato paste if desired. Simmer for awhile and taste again, adjust seasonings as desired.

Meanwhile during the final simmer. Prepare the polenta and the braised greens.

For the polenta: combine the water and milk with a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil and then add the polenta in a steady stream while whisking all the while to prevent lumps from forming. Turn the heat to a low simmer, whisking frequently, until thick--about 10 min. If the mixture becomes too thick, stir in a bit of water of milk.

For the braised greens: stem and rinse, add to a large pan with some water. Cover and steam until greens are wilted. Pour into a strainer and let cool. Wring out the water and chop into strips. IF desired, saute some onion slices and then toss iin the greens to warm.

Serve the ragu over the polenta on a bed of the greens. Top with a dollop of goat cheese--Yumm!!