Beetroot mezze - well small things?

"For me, a mezze dish has to be completely self-contained - fully flavoured and ready to go without needing anything else to make sense." Yotam Ottolenghi

Ok - this is not really a small thing. It's Beetroot and red onion tarte tatin by Elena Silcock on the BBC Good Food website and I'm in the process of making it - or something like it now. Why? Well it's our last local book group meeting tonight, for which we all bring a plate. I'm hosting, and my particular challenge was to find something suitable for a vegan and two vegetarians. I searched a fair bit and finally alighted on this - with the non-butter kind of puff pastry. It's not quite as shown here - I've added some carrots to the mix and also some thyme, red and balsamic vinegar and some orange juice.

It's not a small thing - although it's for nine people so they won't each get much, but it is sort of a mezze as described by Ottolenghi:

"It's forgiving, it's abundant, and it gives everyone permission to eat exactly what they want, when they want it. No one's waiting for the host to finish their starter before moving on."

But goodness doesn't beetroot - even when cut into wedges - take a long time to cook to soft. I've been cooking it in the oven for over an hour now and it's still tooth resistant. Maybe it's because I accidentally stored my beetroot in the meat drawer of the fridge and they had little ice crystals on them. But they were cooking so slowly in fact that I just now cut my wedges in half to make them cook faster. I'm not that bothered by the look as I'm planning to do the sprinkle thing with parsley, walnuts and zested orange strips.

Anyway, as always looking for ideas for this blog, I thought I would go back to an earlier Ottolenghi substack newsletter that he had written about mezze and there at the top of the piece was this gorgeous looking plate of his Beetroot and fennel dip with sour cherries. Maybe I should have made this instead - the sour cream or yoghurt that he suggests as an addition, is an optional extra after all, so the whole thing would have met my vegan criteria. Never mind - too late now so another time. However, it did make me think that I should have a look and see what else there was in the way of beetroot centred mezze dishes. After all 'tis the season for mezze and barbecues. And beetroot is very fashionable - if out of season.

I am however, going to ignore beetroot dips - I know Ottolenghi calls the above a dip, but it's more of a kind of salad really isn't it? I'm ignoring dips because there are thousands of them, and indeed one of our group is bringing nibbles that include beetroot dips from the supermarket - well she has a very busy afternoon and no time. Besides the massive array of dips in the supermarkets are probably really good.

So I mostly tried to find different things, but every now and then got sucked into a particularly good looking something more ordinary - like salads and sort of salads - and there are thousands of these as well - these were my picks: Radicchio salad with port-glazed figs and pickled beetroot - Gourmet Traveller; Smashed beetroot, quinoa, egg and avocado salad - Gourmet Traveller; Burrata with balsamic buttered beetroot, vincotto and rosemary - Berta Restaurant/Gourmet Traveller; Gingery beetroot with peanut dressing, black sesame and chives - Yotam Ottolenghi and Vegan beetroot carpaccio - Jamie Oliver

Mezze of course is a Middle-Eastern concept, and it's possible that I have crept into other cuisines with my other dishes in this post, although Ottolenghi himself likens them to canapés. Even some of those salads above are probably not really mezze, however, it seems to me that they fit into the food to share ethos of mezze which Ottolenghi describes at the top of my page, and also here:

"All those little bowls and plates covering every inch of the table, no real order to any of it, everyone just diving in wherever something catches their eye."

One concept - for which I have two examples - the terrine - is not a Middle-Eastern thing and is really a more haute cuisine thing - and indeed the first example from George Calombaris' ex head chef Joe Grbac of Beetroot terrine, although not hard, is a bit tedious, in that the layers of sliced, cooked beetroot are sandwiched with a redcurrant jelly and port jelly that needs to set before you do the next layer. No recipe online alas, but it does look classy. Julie Goodwin's Roast beetroot and goat's cheese terrine from the Australian Women's Weekly is a simpler but no less good-looking affair. Amazing what a little bit of green and few nuts will do isn't it?

I know I said I would ignore the dips - and I still sort of am - but here are Jamie Oliver's Beetroot crisps with coriander houmus and Saganaki hot dogs with beetroot relish - George Calombaris/delicious., to which I think I give my first prize. I mean who can resist grilled cheese - other than a vegan? In his first mezze post Ottolenghi did say that the mezze table was a bit competitive. So yes - this is my top pick.

To finish - three outliers - Beetroot kebabs with labne and dukkah - Joseph Abboud/Gourmet Traveller; Beetroot rissoles - Shannon Bennett/delicious. and Tarts with beetroot, coriander and bacon jam - Phoebe Wood/delicious.

It isn't really beetroot season. although they can be found at any time of the year. I think of it as a wintry thing, so it is interesting to see that the Middle-Eastern countries seem to love it. Although in the mountainous areas of the Middle-east it gets pretty freezing. There are lots of ways it can be used - the leaves and stems too although I haven't included them here, and there were none on mine - I bought them separately not in a bunch. But the muddle of lots of different dishes on the table to choose from season is upon us. Summer has arrived today, although for how long I daren't say.

I'm still worried about the firmness of my beetroot. I have finished the first stage of cooking the veggies - some of the onions are distinctly charred - but that's OK. I'm hoping the final half an hour or so of cooking underneath the pastry will do the trick, although I am rather praying that they won't all be burnt to a crisp.

YEARS GONE BY

December 3

2024 - A moscato dilemma

2023 - Nothing

2022 - Sides - sort of the same thing really, but less specific

2021 - Don't mess with Christmas dinner

2020 - Missing

2019 - Impromptu needs planning

2018 - Can lazy be good?

2017 - Christmas cake

2016 - How come mint in hot countries?