Barbabietole alle Acciughe - Beet with Anchovies

I've been working on this lovely series of films for the past 9 months or so now, about five Italian grandmothers' food stories. I would leave every editing session with this huge appetite and a desire to rush home and make whatever it was that I'd seen that day on the video. One of the most common cravings was Bagna Cauda - a Piedmontese anchovy, garlic and olive oil type of fondue.

I've since gone home and made this dish several times, to great success! Big E and I both loved it and it's one that I'd make again and again. This has made me reconsider the various veggie and anchovy recipes in SS that I'd been carefully ignoring since this failed fiasco. So when I had some beets in our latest C.S.A. box, I scanned through SS and decided on this recipe.

The recipe wasn't too difficult and it was a great one to time with other recipes, because once I tossed the ingredients together, it still had to sit for about 15 minutes for the flavours to set. I first had to boil the beets then peel and dice them. This could be done in advance. In a small bowl, I tossed the diced beets with chopped parsley and a minced small garlic clove. Then in a frying pan, I heated a couple of tablespoons of olive oil with a splash of red wine vinegar. To that, I added 3 anchovy fillets to the oil and sautéed them, while mashing them with a wooden spoon till they were almost completely disintegrated and mixed into the oil.

I drizzled the anchovy oil over the beets, tossed them to coat and then let them stand for 15 minutes before serving them. They were milder than I'd expected and with my new found love of Bagna Cauda, I might even make more sauce in the future. The salty and savory anchovy sauce was a great contrast to the naturally sweet and earthy flavoured beets. Yum! We ate the entire bowl in one sitting.

I served the beets with Asparagus with Parmesan (from SS, coming soon), simple sautéed greens and braised Marin Sun Farms flank steak with soy sauce and garlic olive oil.

On a side note, the first of the five films we've completed for Rabbits and Wrinkles has been selected to show that the NYC Food Film Festival on June 17th at 8:20pm - it's called In Pignata and is about Carluccia, a lovely Calabrian farmer. If you're in the area, come see it - It's only 24 minutes and it's free!

Tasty Factor: A- Ease of Preparation: A- Modifications: No.