A Beet, Blue Cheese and Cherries Appetizer

Roasted beets, apple cider-soaked dried cherries, creamy blue cheese and crunchy pecans. This beet appetizer is hearty enough to stave off hunger and intriguing enough to satisfy curious appetites.

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I don't have enough beet appetizers in my life. You probably don't, either. You may think you've got plenty, but I'm going to try and change your mind.

You know about the Awesome Veggie Apps and Snacks Board, right? It's my place to gather all the vegetable-centric [though not all vegetarian or vegan] starters I come across on the web. There are several beet recipes scattered amongst the hundreds of pins. [I am still figuring out this whole Pinterest thing, so it's rare that you'd find a repeat on that board--keep scrolling down for more ideas.]

I've also got 60 beet recipes from generous food bloggers in my Beet Recipes Collection, part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient. This index is for folks like me eating seasonally from the farm share or farmer's market. The kind of folks who have a pile of fresh beets in the crisper 2 weeks after the last farm share delivery. The kind of folks who always have roasted beets in the freezer. The kind of folks who encourage their kids to use beets in their next school project [and then take photos of the results for a future blog post].

In my defense, the project was to prepare a dish using a vegetable, so it's not like he needed to build a molecule with toothpicks and marshmallows and I wanted him to substitute beets for the . . . . toothpicks [you thought I was going to say marshmallows].

Recently I ate lunch with a friend and she suggested we order the beet appetizer. When it came--a lovely plate of beet cubes topped with goat cheese and pecans--it reminded me of this dish. And I was also reminded that I need to treat myself to more beet appetizers.

Note: this appetizer can be mostly made ahead of time and just assembled up to 30 minutes before eating (the blue cheese will start to become . . . pink cheese . . . the longer it sits). Roast the beets, rehydrate the cherries, and toast the pecans a day ahead of time. Store the beets and cherries in the fridge, but let everything come to room temperature before combining and serving.

A Beet, Blue Cheese and Cherries Appetizer

Ingredients

• ½ cup dried cherries (I'd bet dried cranberries would also be good in this)
• ½ cup apple cider
• 2 cups cubed roasted beets, cooled enough to handle (I roasted mine whole and unpeeled, wrapped in foil at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 to 60 minutes depending on size)
• salt and pepper to taste (I started with a generous pinch of salt and several grinds of pepper)
• ¼ cup crumbled blue cheese
• ¼ cup chopped toasted pecans (I toast mine in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until fragrant)

Instructions

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine cherries and apple cider. Simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from heat and let sit another 15 to 30 minutes until cherries are fully rehydrated. Depending on your cherries you may need to add a few Tablespoons more cider.
2. In a large bowl, toss cherries (and any unabsorbed cider) and beets until well mixed. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and several grinds of pepper. Toss again. Transfer to a serving dish.
3. Top with blue cheese and pecans.  Snag a bite, then consider adding more pepper. Serve at room temperature or while beets are slightly warm.