Eat your beets



Beet chips



A few years ago, my husband and I bought beets nearly every week at the farmers' market. He would usually cook them - roasting them in the oven on their own or in a bath of heavy cream (so good!). We ate golden beets, candy-stripe beets, and red beets. We ate beets so often, I didn't even want to look at a beet until this summer. Finally we were ready to buy some at the market and my mom has shared some of her crop with us as well. I thought I would try a few new ways of cooking them...hopefully I won't overdo it this time and have to wait years before even thinking about a beet.

First, beet chips. You wouldn't think that beets would be addictive, but I literally had to take these away from my husband because he would have eaten all of them. You just peel them, slice them as thin as possible (I used a mandolin and cut my finger, so be careful!), salt and oil them, and roast them for about 30 minutes. The result is a salty and sweet crispy "chip" that's good for you!

Roasted beet salad

Second, a roasted beet salad. I once had a salad at a restaurant that consisted of beets that were perfectly cooked, goat cheese, and arugula. I figured out that they must have roasted the beets - it keeps their flavor but gives them a nice soft texture. They are roasted in their own skins wrapped in foil, then cooled, peeled, and sliced. My salad was just the beets with a simple vinaigrette, but I would have added goat cheese and arugula if I had them. The vinaigrette is tangy and salty which is a nice complement to the sweet beets.

I used candy-stripe and white beets to make the beet salad, but a mixture of any type of beets would be great.

Beet Chips

4-5 beets

Olive oil

Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel beets using a vegetable peeler. Your hands will turn pink. Slice beets as thin as possible using a knife or mandolin. Place in a bowl and toss with a few tablespoons olive oil and salt. Spread in one layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until crispy. You may want to remove the smaller beets from the oven before the time is up, otherwise they will burn. Let cool a little, and enjoy!

Roasted Beet Salad

5-6 small beets

About 1 Tbl olive oil

1-2 cups arugula

2-3 ounces Goat cheese (chevre)

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 Tbl red wine vinegar

2-3 Tbl olive oil

1 tsp honey

Salt and pepper



Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the tops and bottoms off the beets. Place on a large piece of foil on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Wrap in foil, then bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the size of the beets. A knife should easily pierce the beets when they are finished. Let cool, then peel by rubbing the outside with a paper towel. Slice or cut into wedges and place in a bowl.



Before cooking



After cooking



While the beets are cooling, make the vinaigrette by whisking together Dijon, vinegar, oil, honey and salt and pepper to taste. Add more oil if it's too acidic. Make sure the vinaigrette is salty enough. Check for seasonings by tasting it with a slice of the cooked beets.

Toss the beets and arugula with the vinaigrette. Top with crumbled goat cheese.

 



Beets dressed in vinaigrette



Peeled beets