Red Beets!

Beets are one of the most fabulous foods, both in terms of nutrition and taste. Beets are said to have detoxifying properties and are a great source of folate, essential for women in their child-bearing years, and other nutrients. One cup of sliced beets contains only 60 calories, two grams of protein, and almost four grams of fiber. Beets are in season now so you should be able to find them readily at your local farmers market. They can be red, golden, or even white. If you can find them – buy the beets with the greens still attached and do not discard them! They are incredibly rich in nutrients and are absolutely delicious. My mother, ever the penny pinching Dutchwoman, would convince vegetable purveyors at our local farmers’ market to take the greens out of the trash that they were going to throw away and give them to her for free. They are great simply sautéed with a little garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. The foliage is also very attractive and can be grown in pots on a patio. I will definitely be adding beets to my “crop rotation” next spring…

A couple of great recipes for beets are below.

Pickled Red Beets

Pickled red beets are great eaten on their own as a snack or served as a side dish as part of a meal. The cool and refreshing sweet and sour of the beets make a great way to cut through a more heavy dish, particularly when it is hot out.

1 quart fresh red beets
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Wash the beets thoroughly to remove all traces of soil. It is best to use a vegetable brush for this job. Place the beets in a pot with enough water to cover them and bring to a boil. Continue allowing the beets to boil until they are fork tender. How long this takes depends on the size of your beets of course. Drain the beets, reserving the boiling water. When the beets are cool enough to handle, remove the outer skin. The skin should peel right off or you might have to use a paring knife to help with the job. Cut the beets in quarters and set aside.





Bring the reserved beet liquid together with the remaining ingredients to a boil and cook on medium low heat for about 15 minutes in order to concentrate some of the flavors. Place the cut beets in a jar and pour the vinegar beet juice mixture over top so that they are completely immersed. You can either use saved used pickle jars or mayonnaise jars or you can buy Mason jars from the grocery store. You could also just put them in a bowl and cover it with saran wrap if you are going to eat the beets within the next day or so. Allow the beets to cool slightly at room temperature and then refrigerate at least overnight before serving. They should last about two weeks in the fridge.



PLEASE NOTE: This recipe does not purport to can. Canning is a very specific process that allows you to store fruit or vegetables for extended periods of time at room temperature. I might do a post on canning in the future, we’ll see how ambitious I get with this…



Beet and Feta Salad

This is a great recipe to use the whole of the beet. It also utilizes one of my favorite ways to eat beets – roasted. They are absolutely delicious and become so sweek that they almost taste like candy…You can use the roasted beets in any kind of salad or you could serve them at room temperature as part of an antipasto platter.

One bunch of beets (can be any color or variety) with greens attached
1/2 cup of good feta cheese (do yourself a favor, go to a cheese shop and get GOOD feta – really makes a difference)
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Drizzle of vinaigrette (recipe below) or about 2 tablespoons

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the tops off of the beets and reserve. Rinse all of the loose dirt off the beets. Peel and quarter the beets so that all of the pieces are of uniform size (you might have to cut a larger beet into six). Place the cut beets into a baking dish so that they are in one layer and toss with the tablespoon of olive oil plus a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast the beets until they begin to caramelize and are fork tender. This should take about 40 minutes, but depends on the size of the beets.

Towards the end of the beet roasting time, begin to prepare the greens. Wash the greens thoroughly. Trim the stem only part off and discard. Cut the leaf portion of the greens into wide ribbons. Preheat a sauté pan with the remaining olive oil and when hot sauté the greens with a little bit of salt and pepper just until they are wilted. This should only take about a minute. Remove the greens from the pan and place in a bowl together with the roasted beets. Toss with just enough vinaigrette to coat. Sprinkle the beets and greens with the crumbled feta cheese and serve with a little additional fresh ground black pepper on top.

Basic vinaigrette recipe

Wisk two tablespoons of red wine vinegar together with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and fresh ground black pepper, as well as 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard. While wisking, stream in 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil. The amount of olive oil can be adjusted to your taste according to how sharp you prefer your vinaigrette. This vinaigrette can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for at least two weeks. If the oil coagulates in the refrigerator, it’s not gone bad, simply let it set out on the counter until it melts and wisk it together again.