Golden Beet Hash

Holy cow... has it really been almost a month since my last post? March has been one of those months where I woke up on the 31st and yelled, "Oh, shit, tomorrow's APRIL?!"

It's been a crazy month, bookended by D.'s sister's wedding and a wedding-planning weekend for our own. In the middle, our friend J.T. broke the news that she was leaving San Diego, which ended up with road trip to her hometown of Santa Fe, N.M. Any time we've spent at home has been spent furiously organizing and cleaning. We've made huge donations to Goodwill and are now trying to sell various items on Craigslist.

D. and I are continuing to eat out less and we also need to diversify our recipes. Our goal is to look more towards the plethora of cooking magazines in the house (and their corresponding websites) for more inspiration. Saveur provided a recipe for hashed turnips, which worked for us because we had pork chops in the freezer. Then, I receive a call from D.:

D: Hm... what do turnips look like again? I think I might have purchased golden beets.

Me (somewhat quizzically): Well, they're white with the purple-ish tops. Golden beets look like... um, beets. But they're yellow.

D (somewhat defensively): Damn. Maybe Henry's shouldn't put golden beets under the "turnips" sign.

So, we ended up with golden beet hash. D. makes a great hash and his note is that, if using beets, they need a much longer cooking time. Approximately 1 hour, so plan for that. He also omitted the parsley because we both have an aversion to it.

D.'s I-don't-know-what-a-turnip-looks-like Golden Beet Hash
(adapted from Saveur's Hashed Turnips)

3 1/2 lbs. golden beets, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 6-oz. boneless pork chop, cut into 1/4" cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste
1 large onion, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Place turnips in a large bowl and cover with water; set aside. Heat oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Season pork with salt and pepper to taste and add to skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 5 minutes. Add onions and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, drain turnips in a colander and pat dry with paper towels. Add turnips, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and butter to skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally and scraping bottom of skillet with a wooden spoon until turnips soften and lightly brown, about 15 minutes. Stir in heavy cream, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until turnips can be easily mashed with a fork, about 60 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.