Watch our historic foodways staff cook this recipe, then try it at home
Beets are a versatile root vegetable. These are simmered in sauce, along with scallions and garlic, for a tender side dish.
18th Century
Boil, or do them in an oven. To fricasee them, put them into a stew-pan with some butter, parsley, scallions, shred a little garlic, and some flour, vinegar to your taste, salt and pepper, and let them boil a quarter of an hour.
— Menon, “The French Family Cookbook”
21st Century
Ingredients
- 3-5 fresh whole beets
- 1 stick or 8 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp. parsley, minced
- 1 scallion, minced
- cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. white wine vinegar
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- 1 lemon
Instructions
- Boil beets until fork tender. When they are cool enough to handle, take a paring knife and scape the skin off. The skin should easily come off. Then cut them into round slices. Set aside.
- For the sauce, take a medium saucepan and melt the butter on a low heat. Once melted, whisk four into butter. Then stir in the parsley, scallions, garlic, vinegar, salt and pepper.
- Add beets to sauce. Thoroughly coat the beet slices as you stir.
- Let simmer on medium heat for ten minutes or until sauce becomes thick. Garnish with sliced lemons.