BEET SALAD WITH CARAWAY AND WALNUT OIL

1 pound red baby beets, trimmed
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf, preferably fresh
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons sugar, or to taste
6 tablespoons walnut oil
micro cress, mâche, or watercress leaves, for garnish
chopped walnuts, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In an ovenproof dish, toss the beets with the canola oil, thyme, bay leaf, and salt and pepper. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and roast until the beets are tender and cooked through, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make the dressing. Place 1 cup of water in a saucepan with the caraway seeds and bring to a boil. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the Champagne vinegar and sugar. Whisk in the walnut oil and season with salt and pepper.

When the beets are cool enough to handle, slip off their skins and place them in a bowl. Pour the dressing over them and let marinate for at least 1 hour.

Serve garnished with the cress and walnuts.

DAVID BOULEY:
A lot of people think of beets as something that they had when they were kids that waspickled or served out of a can. And a lot of people don't understand that a good beet straight from the garden doesn't taste anything like that. A fresh beet, still with its greens attached, is tender and sweet, almost more like a fruit than a vegetable. It's not woody and tough or dry like a potato. It's beautiful.

Beets are one of my favorite things, and I can say that I've loved them since I was seven or eight, when I first realized what vegetables were supposed to taste like. I was on a farm helping out during the harvest, which is what my family did in Connecticut every fall. After gathering the produce there was a big cookout, and all the root vegetables were wrapped in aluminum foil and roasted on an open fire. The beets got intensely sweet and I thought they were the best vegetables I'd ever had.

This recipe shows off how simple and delicious a garden-fresh beet can be, so it's important to use baby beets that have been harvested within a few days of cooking.

Notes:
The caraway here is a nice contrast to the beet's sweetness, as is the walnut oil, which has a slightly bitter note. This is a versatile salad that will go with practically anything as a side dish: meat, fish, pasta, or potatoes.

For a substantial first course, you can add cheese: a goat cheese, fresh or aged, a nice granular aged Cheddar or Parmigiano-Reggiano, or even a blue cheese.

Serves 4 to 6 as an appetizer or side dish
Adapted from Source: East of Paris: The New Cuisines of Austria and the Danube by David Bouley, Melissa Clark