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Beet Pancakes and Frittatas with Bittman

NPR | By Melissa Block
Published May 30, 2005 at 12:00 AM EDT
Mark Bittman prepares to separate freshly picked beets from their red stems and green leaves.
Charlie Mayer, NPR
Mark Bittman prepares to separate freshly picked beets from their red stems and green leaves.
Bittman shows off a colorful assortment of eggs that will go into making the frittata.
Charlie Mayer, NPR /
Bittman shows off a colorful assortment of eggs that will go into making the frittata.
Melissa Block enjoys lunch: A bok choy frittata and a green salad topped with asparagus and grilled beef.
Charlie Mayer, NPR /
Melissa Block enjoys lunch: A bok choy frittata and a green salad topped with asparagus and grilled beef.

On a recent spring day, Melissa Block and food writer Mark Bittman visited a farmer's market in McLean, Va. Their mission: gather a basketful of ingredients and see what they could cook up.

Their haul: bunches of tiny, muddy beets; chunky asparagus; lots of greens; long, fat spring onions; some hormone-free beef; and from a farm in Orange, Va., fresh, colorful eggs.

By the time they arrive back in Block's kitchen, Bittman has come up with a plan -- a salad, with asparagus and grilled beef on top; frittata with bok choy and spring onions, and beet pancake. That's right, pancake.

Bittman is author of How to Cook Everything and the New York Times food column "The Minimalist." Below are his recipes for Beet Roesti with Rosemary and basic frittata.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Melissa Block
As special correspondent and guest host of NPR's news programs, Melissa Block brings her signature combination of warmth and incisive reporting. Her work over the decades has earned her journalism's highest honors, and has made her one of NPR's most familiar and beloved voices.
See stories by Melissa Block