Steam Roasted Beet Salad with Lamb and Feta Cheese

When roasting beets in your Combi-steam oven in the Convection Steam mode, you could do them without foil as typically done in a conventional oven. Of course there are several ways to cook beets. They can be boiled in water until soft, cooled, and peeled. They can be peeled and chopped, tossed in oil, and roasted or they can be roasted whole. But believe me, using a Combi-steam oven will yied better results in a more practical manner. 

Traditionaly, when roasting whole beets recipes instructions say to wrap the beets in foil to retain moisture during the roasting process, if you were to roast whole beets in your Combi-steam oven in the Convection Steam mode, you could of course roast them without foil.

In this recipe for beet salad, I am peeling the beets, chopping them, and tossing them in oil before roasting. In order to stop the red beets from bleeding into the golden beets, I am keeping them separate on the roasting pan. To avoid staining from the beet juice I wear disposable gloves when handling red beets and prep them on a washable cutting board or rimmed baking sheet.  Any way you prepare them beets they make a flavorful colorful addition to salads and pair beautifully with lamb and a sprinkling of feta cheese and fresh herbs.

Ingredients

Roasting the Beets

1 bunch golden beets, trimmed, peeled, and cut into wedges

1 bunch red beets, trimmed, peeled, and cut into wedges

3 tbsp olive oil

Kosher salt

Dressing

6 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp olden Balsamic vinegar

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Assembling the Salad

Mixed salad greens

½ shallot, thinly sliced

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

Sliced, roast lamb, cold or refreshed in the Combi steam oven

Preparation

Heat the oven in the combination Convection Steam mode 350℉.

Peel and chop the golden beets first. Place them in a mixing bowl and add enough olive oil to coat and give them a sprinkling of Kosher salt. Place them on one half of a rimmed baking sheet. Repeat the process with the red beets, and place them on the other side of the baking sheet.

Place the baking sheet in the heated oven and cook for 25 - 30 minutes until the beets have softened.  The beets can be served warm or cooled and served with a salad.

To assemble the salad, toss the salad greens and shallots with the dressing. Gently fold in the golden beets and arrange the red beets and lamb around the salad.  Top with the crumbled feta cheese.

Serves 2 - 4

Larissa Taboryski

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BBQ Pulled Turkey

Turkey pieces slowly braised in a homemade BBQ sauce then pulled off the bone and served with cornbread or soft rolls is a delicious easy dish to prepare and a perfect dish for entertaining. This dish can be cooked covered in Convection or uncovered in the Steam oven.

The homemade BBQ sauce is also key to achieving great flavor with this recipe so begin by preparing the BBQ sauce and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. While the sauce is simmering, season the turkey pieces and set them aside to absorb the flavors. Even though the skin is discarded when shredding the turkey, braising the turkey with the skin on does add to the fat content but most importantly it adds great flavor.

Larissa Taboryski

Ingredients

For the BBQ sauce

2 tbsp butter + 1tbs oil

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

Combine the following ingredients

3/4 cup of apple cider vinegar

¾ cup ketchup

1 Tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp dry mustard powder

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 cup water

For the turkey

2 bone-in turkey thighs or a combination of bone-in  leg and thigh or leg and breast

1 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp Kosher salt

1 tsp pepper

1 Tbsp chipotle chili in adobo sauce (optional)

Preparation

A large oven-safe pan or Dutch oven is ideal for preparing the sauce then you can just put the turkey pieces into the sauce and transfer the pan to the oven. Otherwise, prepare the sauce in an oven safe casserole, and add the turkey pieces.

Saute the onions in the butter and oil over moderate heat until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook gently for a few minutes then add the remaining sauce ingredients that you have combined. Simmer over a gentle heat for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, season the turkey pieces with paprika, salt, and pepper and set aside.

Heat the oven, Convection Bake 325F (163C) or Steam Braising 325F (163C). 

Add the turkey pieces to the BBQ sauce and stir in the Chipotle Chili pepper if using. These peppers add a wonderful touch of smokey heat to the sauce. Place the pan in the oven (covered if using Convection) and cook for 1 ½ - 2 hours until the meat is very tender and easily falls off the bone.

In order to “pull” the turkey remove the pieces from the hot sauce and set aside to cool. Remove the skin, discard the bones and shred the meat by hand or with a fork and knife. Return to the pulled turkey to the sauce and reheat if needed before serving.

Serves 4 - 6

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