Beet Love!

While I was playing around with beet recipes I realized how easily I've dismissed the preparation with words like "roast a bunch of beets" as if everyone is going to know how to do that. While second nature to me now, I still do remember the first time I was faced with a bunch of fresh beets and wondered where to begin.

I'm not going to tell you that if you've always hated beets, you will suddenly love them home roasted. But I will say that I think canned beets taste like... can. So if you're willing, try it my way once before you write off this delicious and supremely nutritious veggie.

Most of the time, the beets I find in the market are red but I do have a gourmet mart nearby that sells the golden variety. Rarer still is when I find candy stripe beets and I can never pass those up. The differences in flavor are subtle but the visual appeal is fun. Today I found these plump golden specimens, just begging to come home with me.

Begin by cutting off the top greens and a bit off the bottom tail of the beets. I do this on a cutting board in the sink because the beets grow in soil and are very gritty. Rinse the soil and grit off the beets and pat them dry with a paper towel. Wrap the beets tightly in aluminum foil. Make sure all the ends are sealed, use more than one foil and line your baking pan with some foil as well. Beets tend to leak sticky juice when they roast and you don't want to have to clean that off every surface of your oven.

Place the pan into a 400 degree oven and roast for anywhere from 1 to 1 1/2 hours. To check for doneness, carefully unwrap the foil (watch out for hot steam) and insert the tip of a sharp knife into the largest beet. It should penetrate easily. If done, remove them from the oven, open the foil wrap and leave them to cool enough to be handled. Once cool, use a paring knife to peel the beets. The peel will come off very easily.

Now you have delicious roasted beets waiting to be sliced and incorporated into any number of preparations. Sometimes I'm lazy and just cut them into slices, pour some sherry vinegar over them, add some thinly sliced red onions and toss on some crumbled goat or feta cheese. The tang of sharp cheese and the bite of the onion and vinegar go so well with the naturally sweet beets. I'll eat this as a salad, side dish or just a snack while I decide what to cook for dinner.

But when I'm not lazy, I dice my beautifully roasted beets, whip up a creamy dressing and then add lots of fresh herbs, cheese and nuts to make one of my favorite Golden Beet Salad.

For a heartier dish, I combine red and golden beet slices into a tower with herbed goat cheese, mixed greens and home candied walnuts to make a Roasted Beet Napoleon.



So I hope you try these dishes and like them as much as we do.  Enjoy!