The Beet Goes On…

“Drums keep pounding rhythm to the brain…la de la de di, la de la de da…”

Let’s see how many times you catch yourself la de da-ing today!  hehe.  Speaking of beats beets…

It seems beets are one of those vegetables that you either love or hate. In our house, we love them, especially the non-traditional red ones. We love them pickled, boiled, baked, shredded, and sliced. One of my favorite ways to eat them is boiled and sliced in a salad with some warm goat cheese and sweet onions. I had the best version of this salad at a resort restaurant on the Big Island. I don’t remember the name of the restaurant but I still think about that salad to this day (obviously). There were red and golden beets with island goat cheese and Maui onions with a slight drizzle of balsamic vinegar and EVOO. Maybe sitting just a stone’s throw away from the beach watching a beautiful sunset help engrain that salad to memory but I would be happy to have that exact same salad sitting in my backyard any night.

Did you know beets are very nutritious? High in folic acid, potassium, calcium and antioxidants. And it’s full of fiber, good for…ah…keeping you regular. Beet leaves are even more nutritious than the root which can be juiced or cooked like other greens. Okay, so I don’t eat the greens but if you like chard, you might want to give beet greens a try.

We saw some wonderful golden beets at Jimbo’sand the Mister didn’t hesitate to put a bunch in the basket. Hey, how can you beat a bunch of beets for under $2? After cleaning in water and cutting off both ends, we boiled the beets in water with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice (you can also use vinegar). The lemon juice is suppose to help with the bleeding. This is actually more useful with red beets. After 40 minutes, the beets were just tender for a knife to pierce without resistance.

Once cooled, the peels came off easily. The Mister immediately sliced some up for us to try. The slight crunch and fresh sweetness was so good that I could have probably ate one like an apple. The Mister sauteed some slices in olive oil and garlic but I thought he added a tad too much garlic which overpowered the sweetness of the beet. Definitely less garlic and maybe rough chopped instead of slices. But I much prefer them by themselves.

Beets can go nicely with hearty dishes, like the braised short ribs I made for dinner that night. It added a touch of sweetness that helped with the heaviness of the dish.

Beets can also be baked that creates a more earthy taste than when boiled (like the differences between a boiled and baked potato). Or even just shredded raw with a light vinaigrette like the one below.

2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs honey
Pinch of sea salt
Pinch of freshly ground pepper

However prepared, I think beets are wonderful and more people should give them a try. They are cheap, easy to prepare, sweet, versatile, and nutritious. Now how can you beat that?