Beet Recipes
I was at the Farmer's Market today and bought some beets on a whim remembering how much I liked them as a kid. Of course, as soon as I got home and stared at the odd looking balls, I realized I had absolutely no clue as to what to do with them. I've never cooked them; my mother's never cooked them; nor has my father.
So, help me. What do I do with beets?!
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15 Comments:
wash them. cut off the greens. save the greens if you think you'll use them in another recipe. put the 'odd looking balls' into a pot and cover with cold water, add a teaspoon or 2 of salt and bring to a simmer. slowly simmer for at least an hour, maybe longer, (just like boiling potatoes but they take a lot longer). Cook till fork tender. when they're cooked peel them (while they're hot) with your hands under cold running water. the skins will come right off. quarter them into a serving bowl. add some butter, salt and pepper and stir to coat. serve. they're so good. you'll love them.
nightmoon at 12:11AM on 02/23/09
I pickle them for my bf. Pickled beets totally skeeve me out, but he loves them and they're like, $5/jar so I started making them (the things we do for love? :P). Google Alton Brown's recipe. I don't do the water bath thing to actually "can" them, and I go with @nightmoon's boil/peel, quarter (or slice) method over roasting. I haven't canned anything for real, but the bf eats an entire jar of them in one sitting so I have no idea what I'm missing with the water bath ... I toss a cinnamon stick, a bay leaf, and a few whole allspice things in while it boils ... he loves them.
joyyy at 12:27AM on 02/23/09
bake them in the oven...wrap them whole in aluminum foil with skins on, drizzle olive oil , s&p and put them in oven 350 degrees for 45 minutes..take out, cool off, use a paper towel or old clean cloth, that you don't mind getting discolored, and rub skins off...cut up, red onions, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, oregano, s& p & whatever seasoning you want-it makes a nice beet salad--if you want you can also add black olives and chick peas to the mix...it's really good.
Italiancupcake at 2:59AM on 02/23/09
This is a easy simple salad I just use all red beets:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-symon/slow-roasted-beet-salad-with-blue-cheese-recipe/index.html
WSLunch at 8:36AM on 02/23/09
beets! i usually roast them, as above and then i peel and quarter.
then i roast some apple wedges ... tossed with a little butter or olive oil...
the combination is really nice. sweet and sweeter.
pooch at 10:03AM on 02/23/09
I love beets! Oven roast, then slip off the skins, or I have read of someone peeling and then dicing and cooking, which is a little harder (hve a sharp peeler) but you don't get red everywhere and they cook faster. I prefer roasted or sauteed over boiled because I think the flavour is better.
The greens can be used in soup or stir-fried. Or you can make this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/07/health/nutrition/07recipehealth.html?ref=healthttp://
The one recipe I would avoid is orange-glazed beets, which was popular in the make-vegetables-taste-like-candy era. I do like a beet-yoghurt salad, but it's more of a summer dish.
morgancain at 10:46AM on 02/23/09
I second baking/roasting. Of course, that's my default. Olive oil + coarse salt makes almost every vegetable taste good.
You could also make a borscht.
CanadianFoodieGirl at 11:07AM on 02/23/09
I often peel and roast beets with other root vegetables under a whole chicken. Another great recipe is the following roasted beet salad from Giada...it is a hit every time.
¼ c. Balsamic Vinegar
1-3 Tbsp. Shallots, minced
1 Tbsp. Honey
1/3 c. Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
6 Small Beets, quartered
6 c. Arugula or baby greens
½ c. Toasted Almonds or Walnuts
¼ c. Dried Cranberries or Cherries
1 Avocado, cubed
4 oz. Blue Cheese, crumbled
Whisk first 5 ingredients. Preheat oven 400º. Place a large piece of foil on baking sheet. Toss beats in with enough dressing to coat and place in center of foil. Top with another piece of foil and crimp the edges of the foil to seal tightly. Roast beets until tender @ 30 min., uncover beets and continue roasting until slightly caramelized, flipping occasionally, @ 25 min. Set aside to cool (can be done a day ahead). Toss arugula, almonds, and cranberries with dressing to coat. Top with beets, blue cheese and avocado.
GrimChef at 12:25PM on 02/23/09
I like mine roasted with orange supremes, red onion, oil and vinegar. Delish!
meleyna at 1:19PM on 02/23/09
Apple Beet and Avocado Salad
Winter produce at its best and in holiday colors too. You can also toss the salad instead of arranging it if you prefer.
Ingredients
3 medium beets
4 C. mixed salad greens
1 onion, sliced into thin rings
1 apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced
1/2 C. toasted chopped walnuts
3/4 C. apple cider
2/3 C. cider vinegar
1/2 C. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. prepared mustard
1/4 tsp. celery seed
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Wash beets, and place in a baking dish with 1/4 C. water. Cover and bake for 1 hour or until tender. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Whisk together the apple cider, vinegar, oil, salt, pepper, mustard and celery seed. Peel and slice the beets, combine with the vinaigrette and refrigerate at least half an hour. Divide the greens among four salad plates. Drain beets, and reserve dressing. Decoratively arrange overlapping layers of beet, onion, apple, and avocado on the greens. Drizzle with reserved dressing. Sprinkle on the nuts, and serve at once.
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 6:31PM on 02/23/09
Have you ever made Beet Juice??? Try it, it's really sweet, delicious and great to boost your hemoglobin levels...
Madelyn
KarmaFreeCooking
MadelynRodriguez at 7:11PM on 02/23/09
I absolutely LOVE beets! I grew up eating them all the time in Russia.
Have you heard for the Russian beet soup borsht? Email me if you want details orchidgirl1979 at gmail
You can just roast or boil the beets and make a pretty salad with an addition of oranges, blue cheese and pecans http://mangotomato.blogspot.com/2009/02/beet-orange-salad-with-blue-cheese.html
Or make a raw shredded beet, carrot and ginger salad (Mark Bittman's recipe).
Just remember that beets stain everything! (and this might be too much info, but since you've never had beets before, your pee will turn pink: just don't freak out).
orchidgirl at 10:52AM on 02/24/09
I was obsessed with this salad over the summer (from a Bittman 101 recipes column in the Times). It's super easy, and you preserve the majority of the antioxidants and other wonderful beety attributes since they're left raw.
Shelby at 11:08AM on 02/24/09
Just like Italian Cupcake sayw, I like to roast them until they shrink inside their skin, then peel off the skin and quarter up the beets. I toss with lemon juice, feta cheese, and the raw beet greens, which are VERY HEALTHY!!! They are incredibly rich in Vitamin A.
We served that with mamaliga. . . but you can have the salad on its own.
http://www.kitchencaravan.com/recipe/mamaliga-roasted-beets-and-feta-cheese
sophia kitchencaravan at 11:18AM on 02/24/09
don't know why that link didn't work...take two: the recipe
Shelby at 2:32PM on 02/25/09