The recipe I shared last week for smoked beets finishes them simply with an orange vinaigrette, but they stand up well to other deep flavors. The meatiness of beets and the flavor boost from oven-roasting and then smoking them make them a prime substitute for meat in sandwiches – one of the first ways I tasted smoked beets.
For a few years, Three Forks Grille in Columbia Falls ran a side-shop deli, and the vegetarian Reuben featuring smoked beets and house-made sauerkraut was so tasty I had to ask the secret to the earthy sandwich. When I learned the chef had smoked the beets, I immediately wanted to head home, fire up my old Weber kettle grill and add some hardwood chips.
The strong-tasting beets stand up to the tanginess of sourdough bread and goat cheese, spiciness of arugula, sweetness of roasted garlic and bite of homemade mustard – all staples in my refrigerator. If you simply toast the bread, the goat cheese softens slightly and the greens stay crisp and bright. Grill the sandwich for a golden crust, and the cheese melts more completely and the greens wilt yet remain tasty.
One you start sliding beets into sandwiches, you’ll find plenty of other ingredients to layer in, from eggs to avocado to hummus. If you aren’t ready for the smoking step, roast beets in the oven or grill them for that first caramelized undertone. Use pickled beets for tanginess, but drain them well to keep the sandwich from turning soggy. Draining also applies to boiled or steamed beets, whose mild sweetness benefits from a layer of caramelized or pickled onions.
Goat Cheese and Smoked-Beet Sandwiches
Serves 4
8 slices Sourdough Cabin Bread
8 cloves roasted garlic
4 ounces goat cheese
1/2 cup arugula or mixed greens
1 pound roasted and smoked beets, sliced
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 teaspoons prepared mustard
1 tablespoon butter, softened (optional)
Toast the bread, if you won’t be grilling the sandwiches. Arrange half of the slices on a cutting board. Dividing the sandwich filling ingredients evenly, squeeze on the garlic cloves and crumble on the goat cheese. Use a butter knife to gently press and spread both into the bread. Top each bread slice with greens and then beet slices, and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread mustard on the remaining bread slices and place one, mustard-coated side down, atop each open-faced beet sandwich.
To grill the sandwiches, preheat a cast-iron or other skillet over medium-low heat. Spread room-temperature butter over the top of each sandwich. Working in batches, place the sandwiches, butter side down, in the hot skillet. Spread butter over the remaining dry bread surface, either carefully in the pan or by lifting off the top slice, spreading the butter and returning it to the sandwich.
Cook for three to five minutes, until the underside is golden, and then flip the sandwiches and cook another three to five minutes. Slice each sandwich in half and serve immediately.
Julie Laing is a Bigfork-based cookbook author and food blogger at TwiceAsTasty.com.