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Dig up beets and find a low-cost veggie
As anyone knows who has ever leafed through a seed catalogue knows, beets have gone gaga. No longer is the tasty vegetable a hand-staining dark red, they now come in gold and in white and in some varieties (the Italian Chioggia) they are candy striped. Whatever the color, the lovely taste and texture remain pretty much the same, though some perhaps are a bit sweeter than others. Beets are always cooked with the skin on, the tails on and about 1 inch of the stems intact. This is to keep the color loud and clear. Beets can be cooked in the microwave (steamed with a bit of water), in the oven (covered with foil and baked), or in a kettle of water. However cooked, the test for doneness remains the same. Pierce the cooked beet with the tines of a meat fork or a skewer to test for tenderness. Peeling beets is no fun but wearing rubber gloves and holding the orbs still with that same meat fork, helps when you are slipping the skins off. We used to store beets and carrots in a sandbox in the root cellar in my mother's basement. They keep an amazingly long time and at some convenient point in the winter, my mother would make beet pickles. They are easy to make and delicious. You can serve them as a side dish or as a pickle that is particularly good with pork. My mother never did write her recipe down (too simple) and I didn't either. Here is what it has evolved into--add or subtract ingredients at will. Martha's Pickled Beets Do not dilute the vinegar with beet juice if you are going to make a large number of jars and keep them for a while. If you do dilute the juice be certain that you process the pickles in a hot-water bath for 20 minutes. 2 1/2 cups cooked or canned beets, sliced
Sterilize a pint jar by boiling it for 15 minutes. Drain and arrange beet slices in jar. Bring to a boil the vinegar, beet juice and remaining ingredients. Pour over the beets and seal jar. Serve cold with slices of onion over greens as a salad. Or serve as a condiment. Makes 1 pint. Roasted Beet & Potato Salad To prevent red beets from staining the yellow beets, keep them separate until you are ready to assemble the salad. Chiogga beets (candy striped) provide a muted rose color--with no staining. To conserve energy roast the beets and potatoes at the same time and increase oven temperature to 400 F. 2 medium size red beets
Vinaigrette: 1 teaspoon olive oil
Preheat oven to 375 F. Cut off leaves leaving 1-inch of beet stems. Scrub beets, and shake dry. Wrap each beet loosely in aluminum foil, securing edges well. Place on a baking sheet and roast 45 minutes to 1 hour, until beets can be easily pierced. Remove from oven; cool slightly. Open packets and peel beets. Slice beets into 1/4-inch rounds. Set aside. Rinse and dry the potatoes, then cut in half lengthwise. Toss with the oil to coat and then season with salt and pepper. Place cut-side down on a baking sheet and roast until done and cut sides are browned and crispy. Vinaigrette: While beets and potatoes are roasting, make vinaigrette. Heat olive oil in small saucepan and sauté the shallots but do not brown. Add chicken broth and thyme. Simmer until reduced by about half, remove sprig of thyme and add the 2 vinegars and mustard. Remove from heat and whisk in extra olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss salad with just enough vinaigrette to coat. Adjust seasoning and arrange on plate with beets on top. Drizzle on more dressing. Makes 4 servings as a salad; 2 to 3 as a main dish. Russian Borscht For some borscht recipes you cook the beets and then finely chop or mash them. This one asks that the cooked beets be cut into julienne strips. It also calls for tomatoes, which add a little acidity to the sweet beets. 4 beets
Boil beets until tender. Combine in saucepan beef broth, onion, carrot, celery and tomatoes. Add salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes. Peel the beets and cut them into julienne strips; add to the broth and simmer 10 to 15 minutes. To serve, top each bowlful of borscht with a mixture of sour cream and horseradish and a sprinkling of chopped dill. Makes 4 to 6 servings. Beets Sumac Tangy sumac, a dried sour berry is used Middle Eastern cooking under the name of zahtar. It gives zing to this salad. No zahtar in sight? Instead use lemon juice to add tang. Black sesame seed may also be hard to find so just toast white sesame seed. 1 teaspoon white or black sesame seed
Stir or shake until sesame seeds until golden; combine with beets, yogurt, onion, sumac and thyme; mix. Serve on lettuce leaves adding salt and pepper to taste. Makes 4 servings. It's hard to beat beets! Date: 10/8/07
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