Beets and Cumin Salad

This salad is by Tess Mallos in The food of Morocco: a journey for food lovers. I adopted the recipe to roast the beets instead of boiling them and I pickled the red onions to reduce their pungency. Also, I borrow a technique from India from raita and freshly toast the cumin seeds, crushing half of them and keeping the other half whole to sprinkle on top at the end.

Ingredients:

 

• 6 beets
• 1/3 cup of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoons of cumin seeds
• 1 pickled red onion
• 2 tablespoons of chopped flat-leaf parsley

Procedure:

 

1. Prepare the beets
   • Heat oven to 350 degrees.
   • Wash the beets well.
   • Wrap beets in foil or brush with olive oil and place in small roasting pan.
   • Roast until beets can easily be pierced with thin knife or trussing needle, about 1 hour for small to medium beets.
   • Cool slightly and remove skins — wear latex gloves.
   • Cut the tops and trim the roots.
   • Halve the beets, cut in slender edges.
2. Dress the beets
   • Put the cumin seeds in a dry cold skillet.
   • Put the skillet over moderate heat and gently toast the cumin seeds until they are fragrant.
   • Remove from the heat and immediately transfer the seeds to a small cool glass bowl to stop their cooking.
   • Transfer half of the toasted seeds to a wooden cutting board.
   • Using the bottom of a small cold pan crush the seeds on the cutting board until they are finely crushed.
   • In a deep bowl, beat the olive oil with the red wine vinegar, the crushed cumin and a good grinding of black pepper.
   • Add the beet wedges to the dressing and stir well.
   • Add the parsley and toss well.
   • Add the prickled onions and toss gently.
   • Sprinkle with the 1/2 teaspoon of reserved toasted cumin seeds.
   • Serve at room temperature.