Jeff’s Beet Pate Recipe “Pkhali”

BEET PKHALI

This is a Georgian recipe (the country) similar to one I used with spinach during my Pirosmani restaurant years. Jeff Konkle was a sous chef there and continues to be an amazing chef at Harvest Vine, when he’s not being our Garden Coordinator. Jeff made this last September for an Open-Garden event and it was a big hit especially among the young folks (really!)

Thinking of what is still in our garden, we thought you’d enjoy trying this recipe….

We WILL have food growing all through the winter, much of it under cloche. The greens of course will florish but we have lettuce, radish, more root vegetables (including millions of carrots…) under cloche with the hopes of winter lettuce and radish and lots of food ready for spring!

Our students just finished planting flower seeds, bulbs, and lots of cover crops. Garlic is next….

3 each        large beets, with their skins, but stemmed and washed

3/4 cup      walnuts, ground in a food processor or finely chopped

2 large       cloves garlic, minced

1/4 of 1      medium onion, minced

3 Tbsp.      cilantro, finely chopped

2 Tbsp.       fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 tsp.      ground coriander seed

Pinch          cayenne pepper, or to taste

1/4 tsp.       ground fenugreek seed

2 1/2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar, or more to taste

3 Tbsp.        water

to taste        salt

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

2. Wrap the beets in aluminum foil and bake until tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Cool completely.

3. Peel the beets and cut into pieces.  Mince in a food processor.

4. Combine the beets with the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. Mix thoroughly and season with salt.  Taste and add more vinegar, if desired. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

5. To serve, spread the pkhali in a shallow bowl and smooth the top with a spatula.  With a knife, make a pattern of diamonds in the top. Garnish with cilantro and chopped walnuts, if you wish.