Beetroot with sour cherries

Beetroots with sour cherries, vişneli pancar.

Not exactly summer food but it’s still not exactly summer weather here either. Besides our beets in the allotment are thriving and will be more of this to come in September.

This is a dish from Yeni in Soho menu, recipe is available on Cemre Torun’s book “restoranlar evde” which I know by heart now.

Beetroot with Sour Cherries

Recipe

Ingredients:

- 2 medium red onions

- 6 cloves of garlic

- 1 teaspoon sumac

- A pinch of allspice

- 4-5 medium beetroots

- 1 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

- 2 tablespoons red wine

- 1/4 cup sour cherries (soaked dried or frozen can be used. )

- Strained yogurt

- Flaked almonds or roasted chopped hazelnuts

- Fresh herbs

Steps:

1. Slowly cook 1-2 red onions with plenty of garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan on medium heat for 20 minutes .

2. At the end of cooking, add sumac and the allspice.

3. Slice the beetroots thinly using a mandoline.

4. Place the sliced beetroots in an oven dish and add the cooked onions on top.

5. Add the pomegranate molasses, red wine, and sour cherries.

6. Cover the oven dish with foil and roast until the beetroots are cooked. This can take anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour depending on the thickness of the beets and the oven temperature (165°C conventional).

7. Remove from the oven and let it cool to room temperature.

8. Serve topped with dollops of strained yogurt, flaked almonds or roasted chopped hazelnuts, and fresh herbs.

9. Ideally, enjoy it the next day after it has had a good rest in the fridge, served at room temperature.