Saltado de Beterragas

Beet Stir-Fry with Green Beans & Peas

You can use whatever vegetables you like in this stir-fry, but I love the way the sugar in beets caramelizes when you blast them at very high heat. Add the less-moist vegetables, like the beets, onion, and green beans, toward the beginning of the cooking time and save the juicier tomatoes for last. As with Lomo Saltado (page 140), serve this with your favorite style of cooked potatoes or rice, or rewarm leftover potatoes or rice.

• About 1 cup baby fingerlings or roughly chopped potatoes, 2 handfuls of homemade or good-quality frozen french fries, or about 1½ cups rice
• 1 large or 2 small beets, roasted and peeled (see page 176)
• ½ medium red onion
• Small handful of green beans or haricots verts, steamed
• Small handful of frozen peas, thawed
• 1 ripe medium heirloom, beefsteak, or other juicy tomato, or 2 plum tomatoes
• 2 scallions
• 3 or 4 sprigs fresh cilantro
• 1½ tablespoons Saltado Sauce (page 138)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce, preferably a good-quality Japanese brand, or 2 teaspoons tamari, or more to taste
• 2 to 3 tablespoons canola or other vegetable oil

1 Prepare your potatoes or rice, or rewarm the leftovers. You can roast baby fingerlings, go all-out and confit them in olive oil (page 163), make homemade french fries, or even fry up good-quality store-bought fries. The same goes for rice: Use leftovers, or make your favorite style of white or brown rice to serve with the saltado.

2 Next, prep all of your ingredients (keep each in a separate pile). Halve the beets, or quarter them if large. Put the red onion half, cut side down, lengthwise on a work surface. Cut off both ends, then cut the onion into lengthwise strips about ½ inch thick, moving the knife at a slight angle as you work around the onion globe. Your knife should be almost parallel to the cutting board along the sides of the onion and upright at the top. Put the green beans and peas in a pile together. Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise and cut each half into several large, chunky wedges. Finely chop the scallions, including about halfway up the green stalk, or chop them roughly for more texture, if you’d like. Finely chop the cilantro leaves and the top half of the stems. Have your saltado and soy sauces measured and ready.

3 Heat a wok or large sauté pan over high heat until hot—a good 2 minutes. Pour in the oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan and heat the oil for 2 to 3 minutes, until very hot. The oil shouldn’t be smoking, but close to it. Swirl the oil around the pan, toss in the beets, and shake the pan or use tongs to flip and sear them on all sides for a few seconds. Add the onion, toss again, and then add the green beans and peas. Fry the saltado until the edges of the onions and green beans color in a few spots (you want them crunchy in the center), another few seconds, then add the tomatoes and cook until they barely begin to soften, about 30 seconds. The total cooking time shouldn’t be more than 90 seconds at this point.

4 Immediately drizzle the saltado and soy sauces along the edges of the wok or pan, not on top of the stir-fry ingredients. You should smell them caramelizing. Scatter the minced scallions and cilantro on top of the stir-fry, and toss everything together one more time. Taste, and add another drizzle of soy sauce, if you’d like. The saltado should be really juicy, with big flavors that the potatoes or rice can sop up.

5 Spoon the saltado straight out of the pan into serving bowls. Pile the potatoes on top or serve the rice alongside.