Braised Beets with Pomegranate Reduction by Chef Tristen Epps

Twisted Alchemy’s 100% cold-pressed pomegranate juice does most of the heavy lifting for flavor in this recipe. Each bottle is made from 7 deluxe pomegranates, and that’s it. No added sugars, no preservatives, and never from concentrate. Grab a bottle at select Whole Foods Markets to try this recipe out for yourself.

Braised Beets with Pomegranate Reduction by Chef Tristen Epps

Ingredients:
4-5 medium beets, rinsed and scrubbed
2 cups Twisted Alchemy Cold-Pressed Pomegranate Juice
½ cup sugar
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 habanero, halved
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon allspice berries
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 tablespoon butter
½ cup pomegranate seeds
¼ cup each: Thai basil, mint, cilantro

Instructions:

Remove stems and leaves from beets and reserve for another use. Wash Beets thoroughly and Place in a Medium saucepan.

Add the Next nine ingredients into the pan and place them on the stove. Add water or more pomegranate juice if it doesn’t at least cover the beets ¾ of the way.

Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce to a simmer.

Depending on the size, cook beets for about 20 minutes until you can stick a knife through it and it comes out easily.

Let the beets sit in the liquid until cool enough to handle with your hands.

Using a kitchen towel or a paper towel, gently massage off the skin of the beets. They should come off smoothly.

Trim the beats into desirable sizes (in 6ths or 8ths are preferable).

Strain the liquid from the beet braising liquid into a new pan and bring to a rapid boil over high heat.

Place the beets into that liquid and let it reduce until the liquid thickens and reduces. If you over-reduce it, you can always splash a little more juice or water into the mixture. Don't be afraid of adding water, you can always reduce it off and keep the Pomegranate flavor pure.

When mixture gets shiny and bubbles become smaller and slower, add soy sauce and butter and start to swirl in the butter and mix the beets in with the glaze and get them nicely coated. They should be shiny and  glazed and add pomegranate seeds at the end to maintain freshness.

While resting in the pan, pick herbs into large leaves and tear gently into pieces.

Mix up the herbs and dress lightly with olive oil and season with a little salt.

Plate beets with all the seeds and glaze and cover with the herbs to make a delicious side dish or warm salad. This can be served cold, ambient or room temperature. You can also reserve beet in liquid and the will keep for over a week in the refrigerator because they are essentially pickled.