"Beet" It

Roasted beets are amazing.

fitoverfortymom wrote: »

I've recently found a fondness for beets. I've been buying the fancy-ish, pickled kind from the produce section. It's a little pricey to keep that up, so I am wondering if buying the shelf-sravle pickled beets from the veggie aisle will be same-ish.

Any other beet suggestions?

I think the only difference you’ll find is that the pickled beetroot in the jars are slightly softer than the ‘lightly soaked in vinegar’ ones that are usually with the salad veg. They’ve been submerged in vinegar for longer, after all. This varies from brand to brand, so definitely worth trying a few. Baby beetroot come through better than sliced and sliced better than crinkle cut (a surface area thing) in my experience.

Having said that...I roast my beetroot in foil and either slice for salad or do other delicious things with them!

I love roasted beets as well, as a side or sliced in a salad with feta and some pumpkin seeds - yum! The regular kind, yellow or the candycane striped variety. All so good. As for pickeled - love those too. I buy the jars of Habitant brand (Canada) at Costco and find they are delicious and inexpensive.

Have you tried Harvard beets? It's my favorite way to eat beets in the winter! There's lots of recipes out there, but I keep it super simple.

1 can whole beets (packed in water)
1 Tbsp butter or veggie spread
2 Tbsp Mrs. Bragg's apple cider vinegar
*Dash of sugar if desired

Cut beets into bite size pieces. Heat all ingredients on stovetop until hot. Do not allow to boil though!

Note: you can boil fresh beets, peel and follow the above recipe ratios as well. I use Mrs. Bragg's for the added health benefits but other recipes use regular white vinegar.

Chop raw beetroot into thin pieces (matchstick thin) mix with youghurt and then either lots of mint or plenty of ‘popped’ (ir lightly fried) mustard seeds and pepper.

Add (non vinegary) cooked beet to feta and green things salad, or corn beef hash.

Make beetroot chocolate cake!

Enjoy....

Get the kind with nice fresh-looking tops, ideally fairly tender ones. Beet greens, IMO, are the tastiest cooked greens. I like them sauteed with a little ginger and/or garlic, or sauteed and dressed with a nice mustard vinaigrette, or something like that.

And yeah, the roots are nice, too: I usually roast them, but sometimes just cook on the stovetop and put in salads.

Consider traditional dishes like borscht or other beet soups, or red flannel hash (if you're veg like me, tempeh with suitable seasonings is a decent sub for the corned beef).

You can make your own pickled beets super easy.

Get some beets. Any kind. Red, gold, or chiggogia. Remove the greens if you buy them bunched. Wash/dry the greens and use them as any other greens. Don't leave them on the beets in storage. Scrub the beets and put them in a pan of boiling water sufficient to keep them covered. Simmer until tender - maybe a half hour more or less depending on the size of your beets. When they are done, drain the water off, and let them cool enough that you can handle them, but still warm if possible. You can cover them with cold water to speed that process. The skins should easily slip off at this point.

Slice the beets and place them in a casserole dish - one layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then pour on some balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Let them sit in the fridge for not even very long. Boom! Pickled beets.

You might also try roasting your beets. Scrub the beets and dry them, then chop in large-ish pieces. Toss in a bowl with salt/pepper/olive oil, then lay on a baking sheet. I use parchment paper, but you can just do it straight on the pan if you don't mind the clean-up. Use a cooking sheet pan, not a casserole. You'll get crispier beets. Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes. Check after ten minutes, and turn the beets to expose more surface to the heat. I use the convection setting on my oven.

When they are tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, take 'em out of the oven and toss with balsamic. Then try as hard as you can not to eat all of them. Oh never mind. Just make sure you only cook a few because you're going to eat them all. I sometimes also toss on some other root vegetables like sweet potatoes. You will need to adjust the sizes of your chunks so they are all done around the same time. You can also add white potatoes, mushrooms, winter squash..... But those beets. Yum.