Simple, Healthy, Delicious: Beets

Beets have the highest sugar content of any vegetable and add a deliciously sweet and earthy flavor to many dishes. Roasting them intensifies their flavor and prepares them for use in a variety of dishes.

Roasted Beets

Easy roasters: Wrap beets in aluminum foil and bake at 375F for about an hour.

Wrapping them in foil helps eliminate any mess, making clean up a breeze! Roasting instructions adapted from Vegetables Everyday by Jack Bishop.

• How to: Trim all but the last inch of the stems from the beets. Wash beets and trim any dangling roots. Wrap beets in aluminum foil and place them on a baking sheet in the oven to roast at 375F until they’re soft throughout (like when you bake a potato), about 1 hour or more.

Gold Beets with Brussels Sprouts & Toasted Almonds

This dish is perfect for fall. Slicing Brussels sprouts into strips may help interest even the most picky palate. Adapted from Simplyrecipes.com Serves-4.

Ingredients:

• 3 gold beets
• 15 Brussels sprouts
• 1 large shallot, peeled and sliced
• Sigona’s Fresh Press Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 TBL fresh thyme, chopped
• Optional: 2 TBL almond slivers, toasted (see note)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions: Wrap beets in aluminum foil and roast in the oven at 375F for about 60 minutes. Set aside and when cool enough to touch, peel and chop them into bite-size pieces.

Remove outer leaves from the Brussels sprouts and then slice them into thin strips. This can be done quickly in a food processor, but a knife works just fine, too.

Add about 1 TBL olive oil to a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add shallot and cook for about 3-5 minutes or until translucent. Stir in the thyme, sliced Brussels sprouts and beets. Add more olive oil if needed to lightly coat the entire mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stirring occasionally, let the mixture warm through (the sprouts will wilt slightly) for about 5-7 minutes.

When ready to serve, sprinkle with toasted almond slivers if desired. This dish can be served warm or at room temperature.

*Cook’s Note: (to toast almonds, place in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in a 350F oven for about 3-5 minutes. Keep a close eye on them as you don’t want them too browned)

Chioggia Beet & Mâche Salad

This recipe, adapted From Debra Fioritto Weber, author of Your Guide to French Cuisine, presents a salad where the beets are the star.

For the Beet salad:

• 2-3 Chioggia or golden or red beets, roasted (Note you can use one of each red, gold or Chioggia beet for a nice color combination)
• 1 lb. tender spring greens: lettuce or mâche
• 2 hard boiled eggs
• roasted walnuts

For the Vinaigrette:

• 6 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons walnut oil
• 2 Tablespoons vinegar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• fleur de sel, optional (a specialty salt)

Directions: To roast the beets: Wrap the beets in foil. Place in a preheated 400F oven. Cook for 45-60+ minutes, depending on the size of of the beets. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Rub off the skins.

Place the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk to dissolve the salt. While whisking, pour in the oils and continue to whisk until the vinaigrette is completely blended.

To serve:
Just before serving, slice the beets. Toss the beets and greens together in a bowl. Drizzle on the vinaigrette and toss again. Serve garnished with the hard boiled eggs and walnuts. (You’ll have extra vinaigrette.)

Red Beet, Fennel & Jicama Slaw

Special thanks to Mrs. Ella Potash from the Redwood City Jewish Center for sharing this recipe! It’s fantastically fresh and delicious!

For the salad, gather even amounts of:

• Raw red beets
• Jicama
• Fennel

For the dressing, you’ll need:

• Fresh squeezed lemon juice
• Sigona’s Fresh Press EVOO
• Salt & pepper

Directions: Julienne even amounts of raw red beet, jicama and fennel. Place the beets in a bowl of cold water before mixing with the other vegetables so that they don’t color the other vegetables.

Make a dressing with 4 to 1 ratio of olive oil to lemon juice. Season with salt. Mix salad and serve chilled.