Rosemary Honey Glazed Beets with Garlic and Beet Greens

When my rosemary plant flowers, I like to collect the flowers and infuse honey with them. I use this fragrant honey to glaze vegetables and pork, for lacquering poultry, and on yogurt. I love the floral notes this infusion gives up. See recipe below for making rosemary flower infused honey.

INGREDIENTS:
1 bunch beets, greens removed and reserved, beets cooked as in Roast Beets recipe
2 tablespoons rosemary flower infused honey
1 green garlic, white part only, halved lengthwise and washed, sliced thinly
Grapeseed oil as needed
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1½ tablespoon unsalted butter
Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:
Cook beets according to Roast Beets recipe. Cut the beets ½ to ¾ of an inch at the widest. Toss with white balsamic vinegar. While the beets cook, stem the beet greens and clean greens well. Stack the leaves and roll into a cylinder and slice ½ inch wide.

When ready to serve, have cooked beets at room temperature. Heat a 10-inch sauté pan over medium heat. When hot, add enough oil to film the pan. Add the beets and sauté to color a little, and heat through. Add the rosemary flower honey, and toss to coat. Cook carefully, keeping the beets on the move so the honey doesn’t burn. When the beets are well coated and the honey is caramelizing add 1 tablespoon of butter and swirl the pan while the butter melts, coating the beets. When the butter has melted, remove the beets to a serving dish with a slotted spoon.

Film the pan with a little oil and add the sliced green garlic. Sauté until wilted. Spread out in the pan and add the white balsamic vinegar and cook down until almost all gone. Add the ½ tablespoon of butter. When it has melted, sprinkle in the beet greens and toss with the garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the greens are just wilted. Add the beets in and toss to combine. Serve hot.

Chef’s Notes:
For the rosemary flower honey, pick 2 tablespoons of rosemary flowers. Place in a small strainer and rinse, then dry on a paper towel.  In your smallest pot or pan, heat ½ cup of a light flavored honey until liquid over medium to low heat, and note the color. Add 2 tablespoons rosemary flowers cook for 5-10 minutes, until fragrant. The honey should start to bubble, watch it so it does not burn, and swirl the pot off the heat to allow it to cool a little. Cook the honey and flowers until the honey is redolent of the flower aroma and has turned a little more golden than when you started. Be very careful as the honey can badly burn you. Resist the temptation to taste it while in its liquid state. You can do this honey with other flowers or herbs. Lemon thyme flower honey painted on salmon as it comes hot off the grill is nice, and if your basil goes to flower, use those.

Serves: 4

Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen