spring, fall
The greens are short-lived part. I like to store my roots and greens separately. Treat the greens as mentioned in the “Greens” note and eat them in a few days. Wash the roots, let them dry and then refrigerate them. You can leave them loose or bag them up in paper or plastic, just making sure not to seal up the plastic bag if that’s what you’re using. Beets can keep for weeks, but they do start shriveling as they lose moisture. Don’t forget that both the greens and roots are delicious raw. Make pesto from the greens if you don’t want to cook them. Of course you don’t have to roast your beets. Shaved thin or grated, they’re a great addition to a salad. Marinate the raw beets in a citrus vinaigrette for another variation.
(2023) Pickled Turnip and Beet
From Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbook Jerusalem, who says “this is a cinch to make but must be prepared over two days. It is sharp and not too complex in flavor, perfect for serving with unctuous meats, a tangine, or hummus.”
(2021) Beet Burgers with Smashed Avocado and Pickled Red Onion
And then a recipe for beet burgers. And it also includes a recipe for quick pickled red onions. This one came from Nichole Dandrea-Russert of Purelyplanted.com. I’ve included a photo from her recipe. Read to the end for substitutes for ingredients you may not have on hand.
(2021) Crispy Smashed Beets With Garlic, Scallions and Chile
Was anyone else excited to see beets in our box this week? I’ve missed beets this year and have been hoping we’d see a few before the weather turned too hot. I found the recipe below in the Washington Post – Crispy Smashed Beets with Garlic, Scallions, and Chile. Since I’ve become a big fan of roasting potatoes this way (surely potatoes will be in our boxes soon) and wanted to try the idea with beets. It’s an adaption of a recipe in Gregory Gourdet’s cookbook, “Everyone’s Table” (Harper Wave, 2021). The box has beets, garlic and green onions. All you need is the chile pepper – and that, you can skip and use red pepper flakes instead. Our bunches of beets are big smaller than 2 pounds, but that’s ok. Just cut the recipe down.
(2018) Beet and Fennel Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
I’ve also got a fennel salad recipe from Christi Hansen of Hungry Heart Farm. She and Matthew Bagshaw are farmers who lease space from Mary Rigdon of Decimal Place Farm. But Christi is also a nutritionist who does lots and lots of recipe demos. She gave us this recipe for the AJC back in early winter. And there are still beets available from some local farmers. But that dressing is so good that you might just use your fennel and then cut kale in thin slivers, or add thinly sliced cucumber. It will all work. She was using Meyer lemons from a friend, but any lemon will do.
(2017) Raw Beet Salad
This is a recipe from Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.” In his notes he says, “Beets, like carrots, can be eaten raw. And they’re delicious that way, crunchy and sweet. So sweet, in fact, that they need a strongly acidic dressing like this one for balance.”
If you don’t have shallot, finely dice a little bit of the yellow-skinned onion in today’s box.
(2017) Beet and Mint Slaw
Love this recipe from Whole Foods. No need to cook the beets. Their recipe used fennel which of course isn’t in our box this week. You could add sliced radishes (sliced instead of grated like the beets so you can some contrasting textures). Hope you have mint in the garden because it really makes this slaw sing. I think I’ve mentioned before how much I like dried fruit in salads. Substitute golden raisins, chopped dates, dried cranberries or whatever you have on hand. And if you want a little crunch, chop up some pecans or add some sunflower seeds. Great for a Memorial Day picnic.
Beets and Almonds
My favorite way to eat beets is to roast them. Just roasted and sliced, I’m generally happy. But here’s a fancier version that doesn’t take too much more time. It’s adapted from a recipe in Cook’s Illustrated magazine. I’m including their method for cooking beets. You can follow that, or you can roast them in whatever way you prefer. Use the mint if you have some in your garden, or pick up a bunch at a local farmers market.
Linda Gable’s Chocolate Roots Cake
Linda Gable created this recipe as a way to make a delicious treat a little more healthy. She roasts a variety of vegetables – beets, rutabagas, sweet potatoes and turnips for example – and then peels and purees them. She says she always begins with a red beet and then adds whatever she has on hand. “If you have more puree than you need, it can be frozen for future use. Have fun experimenting with different vegetables. This cake also freezes well so sometimes I bake a few at a time and keep them on hand.”
Stir-fried Beets with Indian Flavors
I’m a big fan of just plain old roasted beets, or raw beets grated into salads, or beets in the juicer. But if you’re looking for something different, consider this recipe.
Notes on Spring Produce
Another amazing week of vegetables. That head of romaine is just right for grilling – if you’re so inclined. I shared directions for grilling lettuce a few weeks ago, but basically – wash the head, cut it in half lengthwise, brush the cut sides with olive oil and grill. Dress it with a simple vinaigrette. Read More…
Beet, Rice and Goat Cheese Burgers
This recipe was published in the New York Times. A really yummy veggie burger. Unless I plan to serve my beets raw, I go ahead and cook the whole batch (either wrapped in foil as a big bundle and baked, or put into a large microwave-proof container with a little water, covered, and allowed to steam in the microwave). Now I have roasted or steamed beets to pickle, slice into salads, or turn into dishes like this.
The Hot Pink
How about a beet cocktail? This came from seriouseats.com. I love shrubs!
Eddie Hernandez’ Sweet Oven-Roasted Beets
From chef Eddie Hernandez of Taqueria del Sol.
Beet Cake with Bourbon Sauce
This recipe is a little more involved than what I usually offer, but I couldn’t resist the idea of a beet cake. The recipe comes from Michel Nischan, author of “Sustainably Delicious: Making the World a Better Place, One Recipe at a Time.”
Roasted Beets, Fennel, and Carrots with Blackberry Vinaigrette
Tyler Williams of Woodfire Grill demonstrated this recipe at Morningside Farmers Market earlier this month. It’s a perfect use of several things in your box (substitute more beets if you don’t have carrots around). Blackberries are in season right this minute and available at most local farmers markets this weekend, so stock up! No faro on hand? Substitute Israeli couscous, orzo or even rice.
Kevin Rathbun Steak Beet Salad
Hands on: 15 minutes Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes Serves: 8 Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a medium bowl, toss beets with 1/4 cup olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap beets in aluminum foil, place on cookie sheet. Bake until beets can be easily pierced...
‘Mother-in-Law’ Beet Salad
This last recipe is an adaptation of one from Marc Sommers, executive chef of Parsley’s Custom Catering in Kennesaw, who demonstrated it at the Morningside Farmers Market a year or so ago. He says he “borrowed” this recipe from his Belarusian mother-in-law. I just had a beet-and-potato salad at an Ethiopian restaurant last night and I can’t wait to try this one.
Grated Raw Beet Salad
This recipe is adapted from one by Martha Rose Shulman and published in the New York Times.
I’m always surprised by the number of people who think you can’t eat beets raw. Of course you can!
And if you scrub them well, you don’t even need to peel them. Just trim up the stem and root ends and that’s all the prep they need. Especially if you’re going to grate them.
Beets and Greens Gratin
Sadly, I do not know where this recipe came from, but as the beet harvest is winding down, thought you might enjoy one more way to use those beets. It provides very detailed directions for dealing with your beets. For those of you who are not fans of goat cheese, substitute any soft cheese, even cream cheese. This recipe is a bit of trouble, but would make a great entrée or side dish for entertaining. You can prepare everything ahead of time and refrigerate, then bake just before you need it for dinner.
Brazilian Chicken Salad Sandwich
This recipe came from Fine Cooking magazine, I don’t remember when! Makes 4 lovely sandwiches that will serve up some of your beets and cilantro. The recipe suggests whole wheat bread, but any loaf of bread that’s handy, sub roll, baguette …. will do. The combination of salty, tart, sweet and herbal – fabulous.
Soba Noodles with Beet Green-Miso Pesto
This recipe from chow.com used Swiss chard in the original, but I think the beet greens (same family, after all) will work beautifully. Easy, healthy, vegan. Love the idea of making a pesto with miso. You could add some daikon in here, too.
Baked Scented Beets and Greens
Elizabeth Schneider, the author of “Vegetable from Amaranth to Zucchini: The Essential Reference” (William Morrow & Company, 2001) loves root vegetables nested in their greens. She does something similar with hareuki turnips.
Pickled Beets 2
As best I can tell, we didn’t do a recipe for pickled beets last year, so here’s one from Linton Hopkins of Restaurant Eugene. He demonstrated this at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market Memorial Day weekend. If you’ve hoarded your beets for the past few weeks you should have plenty to make this recipe.
Roasted Beets, Cabbage and Whole Grain Salad
So after reviewing the box, I’m ready to make a salad, but not with the lettuce. How about something with cooked grains, the Chinese cabbage, and roasted beets? You can use any grain you like here – rice, bulgur, farro, millet, couscous, whatever you have on hand. The cabbage is nice for salad because every bit of that leaf is tender.
Flamingo Pink Borscht
Finally, Marcia, intrepid MB photographer, helped me remember that I’ve been neglecting the beets. I tend to just roast them whole and unpeeled whenever I have the oven going, and then keep the roasted beets in the refrigerator to add to whatever appeals. But she mentioned beet soup, and that reminded me how much I like borscht.
I’m also a huge fan of Jane and Michael Stern. Do you know them? This couple from New Haven, Connecticut travels the United States eating in the most interesting places and they’ve been doing it for decades. Way before that Guy guy was torturing diners, drive-ins and dives, the Sterns were sitting down at booths in the most out-of-the way spots eating the local specialties. They really celebrated the cuisine of America and wrote a number of books. You can find them on the web at roadfood.com.
Anyway, this recipe is from their 1986 book, “Real American Food” and comes from the tradition of New York dairy restaurants. (You do know what a dairy restaurant is, don’t you?)
Pickled Beets
This is a recipe from Anne Quatrano of Bacchanalia and was published in June in Southern Living.
Beetroot and Carrot Crackers
This recipe also uses beets (have I mentioned how much I love beets?) and it’s sort of a specialty thing. If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can stop reading now. This recipe is from British “cook” Karen Knowles who has a raw food blog and has offered several very tasty dehydrated cracker recipes. I look forward to making these this weekend. Beetroot is of course the very descriptive British name for what we in the colonies call “beets”.