We've Got the Beet

We’ve Got the Beet

Beets, where have you been all my life?   I believe a mini-traumatic early experience with beets (my grandmother serving beets out of a can) made me shun them for a good couple of decades. Luckily, I’ve become reacquainted (and now absolutely enamored!)  with them—thanks to a couple of magical methods and recipes, which I’ll share.

But first, to sing the beet’s praises:   They’re almost too good to be true.  If all the internet-gleaned facts can be believed, beets will do everything for you except do your taxes:  clean your liver, detoxify your blood, ward off cancer, cure anemia, and make your skin look radiant.  Yet people still resist eating them, I think due to two factors:  1) raw beets take some time to cook—they aren’t exactly instant gratification.  And 2) red beets stain your hands, your countertop, and possibly your clothes if you’re not careful.  My methods below make it as easy as possible for you to avoid these hazards.

Okay, now to reveal some secrets to making delicious beets with a minimum of fuss:

1.       First, you don’t HAVE to buy raw beets.  Many supermarkets (my local Trader Joe’s, for instance) offer them already boiled.  All you have to do is unwrap the plastic that encases them (I know, not exactly great) and be careful to rinse, drain the beet juice, then slice  OR

2.      You can roast them—Take each raw beet (don’t try to peel, just give it a light scrub) and wrap in aluminum foil, then put in your oven at 400 degrees for about an hour.  When you take them out of the oven and let cool, their hard outer layer will just fall away, and you’re left with the ruby-jeweled insides to cut and cube.

Whether you have store-bought boiled beets or your own roasted beets, here’s how to make them absolutely delicious:

1.      Mix 3 tablespoons olive oil with 2 tablespoons of White Balsamic vinegar.  Add a squirt of honey and a whisper of soy sauce, then whisk.  Trust me, the sweetness of the honey, the saltiness of the soy sauce, and the tartness of the vinegar will combine on the blank canvas of olive oil and produce an amazing result.  Arrange sliced beets on a bed of lettuce (preferably mache), sprinkle with bleu, feta, or gorgonzola cheese, top with dressing—and prepare to have your mind blown.

2.      Or, for a delicious brown-bag lunch, try mixing the cubed beets in with some quinoa, couscous, or brown rice.  Add some other veggies if you’re so inclined.  Add some cheese and a touch of the dressing.  Spend your work afternoon detoxifying your blood as you get your work done.  Who said people can’t multi-task?

3.      One last side note—don’t always be so quick to throw away those beet greens (which, if you get from a farmer’s market, I admit are a pain-in-the-neck because they’re full of dirt).   When thoroughly rinsed, there’s all sorts of things you can do with them—but that’s for another blog post!

Go-Go Get Some Beets,

Jennifer

Photo via here