VINEGAR-ROASTED BEETS

Preheat oven to 300°F. The day before, place beets in a 13- by 9-inch baking dish or something that allows them to be flat. Cover with vinegar, oil and aromatics and sprinkle salt over top. Tightly wrap foil over the top and bake for 1–2 hours, or until a knife inserted into the beet goes in and out smoothly. Let cool for a few hours. Using an old kitchen towel, rub the skin and tails off the beets; they should come right off. Put in a clean container and strain the cooking liquid over top. Let them marinate overnight in this.

WHOLE-WHEAT PIE DOUGH

This makes enough pie dough for two flammkuchen.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients but the butter. Get a cup of ice water ready. Add cold, cubed butter and toss to coat the cubes in the flour. Dump the mix onto a work surface and, with a rolling pin, roll the butter cubes flat, scraping with a bench scraper or spatula as you go. Scrape the butter off your rolling pin a few times as you do this! Once you have all your butter pieces flattened, bring it all together and make a well in the center. Add 2 tablespoons of ice water, toss with your hands and press together. Continue adding a few tablespoons of water at a time until the dough barely holds together. Wrap and chill in the fridge for at least an hour. (Note: Wrapped dough freezes well.)

FLAMMKUCHEN

Makes 1 pastry

The day you’re ready to bake the flammkuchen, bring the pie dough out of the fridge and let sit on the counter for an hour. Prepare your baking trays—line 2 (18- by 12-inch) half sheet trays. Preheat oven to 425°F and prepare an egg wash: Whisk 1 egg yolk and a few tablespoons heavy cream or milk together. When your dough is a touch softer, roll into a rectangle that’s just a few centimeters smaller than your tray. You can measure this by placing the tray on the dough and trimming around it. It should be very thin—like ¼ inch. Trim excess dough and save for another flammkuchen or something else. Using your rolling pin, fold the dough over and place on your lined sheet. Cut 1-inch strips into each side of the dough, about 4 inches in length, so that there’s a 4-inch uncut section in the middle. Spread the ½ cup crème fraîche onto that space, topping with the horseradish and thinly sliced beets. Divide lemon zest over the top of that plus the chopped parsley. Alternating with each side, begin to braid the strips of dough over the top of the beets, trying to keep it nice and tight. Pull each strip to the opposite side and repeat with the other. Once at the end, you might have an extra piece, which you can snip off. Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with a tablespoon of salt and pepper and place in the oven to bake for 20–25 minutes, or until deeply golden brown. Let cool 15 minutes before slicing on a diagonal and serve immediately.