Inspirations from Detroit and Mexico: Beet Elote Salad

Based on two words from a restaurant menu and Mexican street food, Beet Elote Salad replaces corn with diced beets. Recipe below.

THE OTHER NIGHT I WAS POKING AROUND ON VARIOUS DETROIT WEBSITES and I thought to check out the website of Selden Standard. Several years ago, when we were spending most of our time in Detroit, Selden Standard became a place where I would go when I had a free evening and an appetite for a well-made, kind of rustic, kind of wonderful Midwestern-American dinner.

I could go there alone and have a light meal and be treated as well as if I’d come with a gaggle of big spenders. If I was lucky, I could snag a seat at the little counter, so I could watch the balletic chefs at work right in front of me. At a time when a lot of things were already kind of tough, this place was always happily bustling, shining, relaxing, dedicated to great seasonal food and a great evening. I always came away feeling good.

So I was delighted to see that Selden Standard is still in operation. And when I took a look at the menu, the first thing that jumped at me was “beet elote.” Elote is a traditional Mexican street food, grilled ears of corn slathered with mayo, crema and chili powder, then sprinkled with cheese. I have no idea how Selden makes its beet elote or what it means by that, but ideas immediately started everything firing in my head.

This recipe is my thought about that. It combines the earthy, sweet flavor of beets with many lively flavor notes, a little heat and the mellowing effect of cheese. Thanks for the inspo, Selden Standard. Miss you so much—hope to see you again one day soon.

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Beet Elote Salad

Loosely based on Mexican street food, Beet Elote Salad replaces grilled corn with diced beets.

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 2

Ingredients

• 2 pounds fresh beets, peeled and diced
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1-1/2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/8 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika (see Kitchen Notes)
• 1/4 cup red onion, minced
• 1 tablespoon jalapeño, seeded and minced (see Kitchen Notes)
• 2 ounces cohiba or goat cheese (see Kitchen Notes)
• 2 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh chives, minced
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• Heat the butter and olive oil in a nonstick skillet. Add the diced beets, toss them to coat, and sauté over low heat, stirring, until the beets are soft. This will take about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the sour cream, lime juice, cumin, paprika, red onion, jalapeño, cohiba and 2 tablespoons of the chives, and stir until blended. Set aside.
• When the beets are done, salt and pepper to taste, then stir into the salad ingredients. Sprinkle the rest of the chives on top, and serve warm.

Kitchen Notes

The paprika. You may also experiment with smoked paprika or with a chile powder—we like New Mexico chile powder from The Spice House.

The jalapeño. Omit if you really do not care for it, or add more to make this a little spicier.

The cheese. Cohiba is the recommended cheese, but if you cannot get it, a dry crumbly goat cheese is a great substitute.

The color. This is a recipe using beets. When this salad is made with grilled corn, you see the component parts. Beets, however, are going to turn everything red red red. Scattering that last bit of chives on top at the end creates the little visual pop this dish needs.

The serving dish. Our friend Liz asked us to share the provenance of the dishes we feature in our posts. We got this lovely irregularly shaped hand-thrown bowl several years ago at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.  We have no idea who the creator is—the signature, alas, is just a scribble.