Farmers Market Beets, Goat Cheese, Pecans, and Butter Sandwich

Well, that makes it sound fancy.

A big bag of small red beets was my inspiration for beets in a sandwich. The small beets mean that I can cook one or two of them in short time and have fresh beets ready to eat with minimal fuss. Beets are dandy with butter. I'm a fan of artisan bread, so making a beet-and-butter sandwich. This sandwich evolved.

It would be a pretty sandwich if done with thin layers of sliced beet, using the goat cheese as a spread on the butter-grilled roll. However, beets are slippery. Slices of beets shoot right out of the sandwich if it is any larger than a slider. The concoction pictured is quick and easy -- and can be eaten without flying beets.

For 3 well-filled sandwiches:

Ingredients
1 Cup of cooked beets, chopped into small pieces or julienned
2 ounces of goat cheese (this was half a package of Trader Joe's basic goat cheese)
Artisan bread rolls or demi-baguette (any firm, crusty bread)
butter, about 1 TBL
1/4 Cup pecans or walnuts
2 TBL cream cheese (optional)

Prepare your beets. Ideally, you will have done this in advance, and you'll be using them chilled from the refrigerator. My little beets -- about 3" in diameter -- took about 15 minutes to cook to tender, boiled. I scrub them well, put them in a saucepan with water to cover, and simmer covered until a fork pokes through easily. When they have cooled, I peel off the skins. I suspect that these sandwiches would taste good with grated, raw beet as well. I guess I'll find out in the next round!

* Beet juices wills stain your skin, clothes, and porous dishes. No kidding! Wear an apron, watch out for your shoes, and use a plastic or glass cutting board. If you don't have food gloves, plan on prepping your beets just before you wash your hair. Shampooing hair is pretty effective at getting fresh stains out of your fingers (says the multi-media artist and former barista). It also helps to moisturize your skin well before working with dyes. The hydrated skin won't be as absorbent.

Cut your rolls in half lengthwise. In a large skillet or on a griddle, melt the butter. Place the rolls cut side down to grill them with the butter. Don't let them burn!

Mix the goat cheese and beets together in a bowl until incorporated together. The more you mix them, the more pink the mixture will become, so go easy.

A little cream cheese rounds out the flavor and helps everything stick together, so I like a little spread on each half of the grilled roll before applying the beet-and-goat-cheese mix. Add your pecan halves and the other half of the roll.

You can make these in advance; they hold up surprisingly well and are good cold picnic food.