Cardamom and Tea

matchstick beet salad

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I’ll admit that the day before Thanksgiving is kind of a weird time to post just one more Thanksgiving recipe, especially after spending weeks posting so much Thanksgiving stuff in advance. So sure, with only 24 hours to go (just enough time to start dry-brining! and—yikes!—I hope your turkey is defrosted!), you probably have your feast all planned out. But if you’re giving your menu one last look, trying to figure out what’s missing, might I suggest a bright, bold, colorful salad with plenty of seasonal beets?

This beet salad works great in the eleventh hour because it comes together very quickly with super simple ingredients—just cook and prep some beets, mix them together with some herbs and yogurt, and you’ve got a bold statement that totally shrieks Thanksgiving (I bet you didn’t think a salad could shriek). It has the bright neon look of classic ambrosia salad, but without the marshmallows. And it’s nice having a veggie-heavy dish that’s not austere, but still light and refreshing enough to cleanse your palate between savory bites of turkey, gravy, and stuffing.

More beets

my spring beet and chive blossom salad
Mina Park’s beautiful beet pickles
Nik Sharma’s oven roasted beets and carrots with coriander

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matchstick beet salad

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  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour *
  • Yield: 6 side-servings

Ingredients

1 pound unpeeled beet roots (about 2 medium or 1 1/2 large)
1/2 cup strained yogurt (Greek yogurt or labneh)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste
1/4 cup minced red onion or shallot
2 tablespoons chopped mint (split in half)
2 tablespoons chopped dill (split in half)

Instructions

  1. Submerge the beets in salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as the water starts to boil, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 45 minutes, until you can insert a butter knife into the center with no crunchiness (this may take less or more time, depending on their size and shape).
  2. Once the beets are done, strain them and let them cool. You can speed up the cooling process by putting them in an ice bath. Once they’re cool, use a paper towel to slough off the skins.
  3. Cut the beets into a thick julienne, or allumette (matchsticks): slice the beets about 1/8 inch thick. Stack about 3 slices, and cut them into 1/8 inch strips.
  4. Combine the salt and yogurt, and taste, adjusting the seasoning to your preference.
  5. Stir together the beets with the seasoned yogurt, onion, half of the mint, and half of the dill.
  6. Place in a serving bowl and garnish with the other half of the mint and dill.

Notes

* You can buy vacuum-sealed, cooked and peeled beets to have this ready sooner. They’re usually in the produce aisle by the tofu. If you’re using these, simply skip the first and second steps. Just avoid pickled beets for this recipe (but, of course, not in general!).

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Upside-Down Persimmon Cake

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If you’re craving something cozy and orange, but not in the mood for another pumpkin dessert, may I introduce you to the persimmon? Persimmons deserve a spot in your cold weather baking lineup, and this persimmon cake is the perfect place to start.

With their soft, peachy sweetness, and spoonable, plum-like texture, ripe persimmons are pure comfort food. They bubble along with brown sugar and butter under a tender buttermilk cake, creating a cobbler-meets-pudding situation. It’s warm, nostalgic, and just different enough to feel special.

Where to find persimmons to bake a persimmon cake

Not every supermarket stocks persimmons, although they’re becoming more widely popular in the US. So you might just find them in winter farmers’ markets and some grocery stores. You’ll very reliably find them in Asian supermarkets whenever they’re in season.

When are persimmons in season?

You’re most likely to find them when it’s late fall or winter where you are. They’re in season from about October through February in the northern hemisphere. And down under, you can find them from April though August.

But you can sometimes find imported ones in the summer months, so keep an eye out. During transitional months like March and September, they’re pretty much impossible to find. Persimmons are a highly-seasonal fruit with a short shelf-life, so even though you can import them, they’re not available year-round.

How to tell if a persimmon is ripe

Look for ones that feel almost like water balloons. Or let firmer ones sit on the counter for a few days to ripen. Whatever you do, do not eat an unripe one. And don’t be put off by a few little brownish-gray spots (unless they’re past their prime and moldy, those spots are sort of like ones on bananas).

beyond pumpkin pie

If you’re looking for some orange winter treats that are not pumpkin pie, here are some of my favorites:

Chicano Eats’ Spiced Pumpkin Chocoflan
Eva Powell’s Persimmon Pudding
A Cozy Kitchen’s Sweet Potato Pie

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Upside-Down Persimmon Cake

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  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: an 8-inch single-layer cake

Ingredients

For the bottom of the cake:

  • Butter for greasing cake pan
  • 1/2 stick unsalted butter (4 tablespoons), melted and cooled
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 2 ripe fuyu persimmons, into 1/4 inch rounds with a very sharp knife *

For the cake batter:

  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs, at room temperature
  • 1/2 stick unsalted butter (4 tablespoons), melted and cooled
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

Instructions

  1. Prep the cake’s bottom: Butter one 8-inch round cake pan. Cover the bottom of with a parchment round (buttering the pan first helps the paper stick to the bottom).
  2. Mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, and salt, and pour it over the parchment-covered cake pan. Use your fingers to spread the brown sugar out evenly over the bottom until it’s completely covered.
  3. Arrange the persimmon slices over the buttery brown sugar. **
  4. Bake the cake: Preheat the oven to 350° F.
  5. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium-large mixing bowl.
  6. Beat the eggs and butter together until they are very well incorporated. Then add the sugar and buttermilk and beat to combine well.
  7. Pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture, and stir together just until everything is combined. It won’t be completely smooth, and there might be some tiny lumps; this is completely fine! Do not risk over-mixing!
  8. Carefully pour the batter over the persimmons, smooth out the top a little bit with a spatula, and bake for about 25 to 35 minutes. It’s done once you can insert a toothpick into the center and batter doesn’t stick to it.
  9. Let it cool for 5 to 10 minutes in the cake pan. Then trace around the edge with a butter knife to make sure it’s loosened from the pan. Place a plate upside-down over the cake. Put on your grippiest oven mitts, and hold the plate and cake together so that your thumbs are underneath the cake pan. Carefully and quickly rotate it away from yourself and give it a quick up-and-down shake to release the cake from the pan. Remove the pan, slice, and serve.

Notes

* For the prettiest effect, set the persimmon on its side and slice off rounds, rather than slicing from stem to end. Start by slicing off a little bit of skin from the end, and then continue slicing big circles, until you get to the stem. Discard the stem end, and discard the little bit of the end. Arrange the littlest remaining piece so that the smaller side faces the cake batter

** Start with one in the middle, and then make a ring around it, or if you accidentally sliced them thinner than 1/4 inch, make 2 slightly overlapping rings with one slice in the center.

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