Eat Beets!

When I was a kid, I might have eaten canned sliced beets about once a year.  I started cooking with fresh beets when I learned to make borscht in 1995, but I threw away the greens, thinking that only the round red root was edible.  (By the way, as with most other foods, fresh tastes much better than canned!)

Now that I buy fresh local organic beets, we eat the greens and the root. I took a couple pictures while making beets today to show you how to work with them.


If your recipe calls for cooked beets, here's how to do it. Leave about 2" of stem on the root when you cut off the leaves.



  Wash the roots but don't peel and don't worry about the little hairy root fibers; put in a saucepan, cover with water, and simmer about 35-40 minutes or until a knife will pierce the beet easily. Drain.  When cool enough to handle, hold the beet in one hand, just sort of squeeze it, and the skin just comes right off. (The picture at the left might not look great, but that is the beet skin all over my finger.) You can also roast the beets at 375 for 45-60 minutes. Cut off the 2" stems and the thin root end, then continue with your recipe.

I read somewhere that you can wear gloves to protect your hands from being stained red, but that's not necessary. You hands will be red until you wash them with soap, then they will be normal. I find that the beet juice does not permanently stain fabric either.


On the right is a beautiful green beet leaf, just pulled a few hours earlier from the field. (The discolored leaves and the stems go into the compost pile.)

Wash the greens and cut off or rip out the stems. You can chop the leaves if you like, then try some of these beet recipes for preparation ideas.

For dinner tonight I made a beet-apple salad* and we had sauteed beet greens with grilled chicken sausage I bought at Whole Foods.

Beets are full of good healthy stuff; try some soon!

-------------
*beets and apples chopped, tossed with some olive oil, lemon juice, a little bit of honey, and some fresh mint leaves.