Category: Beets

The grated raw beets, marinated briefly in lemon juice, garlic, salt and oil add so much flavor here and you can adapt the rest of the ingredients to suit your pantry and/or taste. Use any cooked grain you'd like. I imagine barley, freekeh, wheat or rye berries all being delicious. Quinoa would work just as well. If you don't have celery, finely dice carrots or radishes or something else crunchy and most any leafy herb would work. Mint would be fantastic as would basil or dill.... Read more »

You can use a wide variety of salad greens here. I particularly like the heft and slight bitterness of chicories (escarole, frisee, radicchio, sugarloaf) or the brightness of arugula and sorrel. However, butter lettuce or oak leaf or even romaine would be good too. And by all means use hazelnuts, walnuts or almonds in place of the pistachios or use sunflower or pumpkin seeds and skip the sesame seeds. ... Read more »

I like to make fritters of most anything and these pack a nice punch from the hot pepper and are earthy and filling. The garlicky, minty yogurt topping delivers a bright, fresh kick. ... Read more »

  I toss together a lot of beet salads, some of which make it into the recipe collection. This one, as they always do, resulted from what I happened to have on hand. Adapt as you see fit but the crunch of the celery, the sweet, robust beets and the sharp zing from the garlic is a particularly fun combination especially in the cooler months.... Read more »

[caption id="attachment_12824" align="aligncenter" width="660"] I didn't have feta or nuts on hand for this version so skipped the feta and substituted toasted pumpkin seeds.[/caption] --inspired by Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sam Tamimi   This brilliantly colored puree is a wonderful appetizer or snack. The original recipe calls for Za’ atar, a wonderful spice mixture which I don’t always have on hand. I do have both thyme and sage in my garden and thought the combination was a great substitute. If you have Za’ atar by all means use it—use 2 teaspoons of it instead of the sage and thyme.   You can adapt this to your needs and swap out seeds for nuts and skip the cheese if need be. It will still be delicious.... Read more »

I had escarole, I had beets and feta and some red onions and needed to take a salad to a potluck. I remembered a friend's love of cumin with beets so I toasted cumin seeds and then roughly ground them in my mortar and voila, a tasty twist on a classic combination was born. You could use other salad greens in stead of the escarole and I'm sure it would be good too.... Read more »

  I love to grate peeled, raw beets and then marinate them in a dressing of minced and mashed garlic, lemon juice, salt and olive oil. All they need is a 15-minute soak, but longer is fine too. Then you can toss them into any green salad, add a bit of crumbled feta and maybe a few handfuls of toasted, coarse breadcrumbs or nuts and you have a lovely salad. Or make the salad below with faro (or barley or most any other grain), celery and herbs. You can also mix the grated marinated beets into Greek yogurt for a sort of (very pink) beat tzatziki and serve that with lamb burgers or dolloped on plain, cooked chickpeas or chickpea burgers.   You can serve it as a punchy garnish for richer dishes and you can use it as a sandwich filling with a generous layer of fresh goat cheese or cream cheese.... Read more »

I love this combination—the bite of the horseradish and the sweet earthiness of the beets. I do not give quantities below so just taste and adjust. How much horseradish to use is really a matter of taste. Start modestly and increase to your liking. The dressing also gets stronger as it sits. I would probably start with 2-3 teaspoons of finely grated horseradish for 1/3 cup yogurt for about 3 medium-sized beets.... Read more »

This is a delicious and beautiful variation on regular pesto. And if you have cooked or roasted beets on hand it’s very quick to pull together. You can serve over grains, hardboiled eggs or other egg dishes or roasted vegetables or as a spread or dip. I don't use it over pasta, however, as somehow the even pink coating doesn't seem quite right to me. ... Read more »

–adapted from Ancient Grains for Modern Meals by Maria Speck   This quick, room temperature dish uses raw, grated beets. The original recipe also calls for sumac, the powder from a red berry found and used all over the Middle East. It has a tart flavor so I substitute a bit of lemon juice (which the author also suggests), which works well. The dish turns a beautiful pink if you're using red beets (I used Chioggia beets in the photo above).   ... Read more »

When I get a bunch of beets I often roast the whole batch and then have the pleasure of having roasted beets on hand to use, however, I want.   I also have a habit of toasting a slice of good, crusty bread and tearing it into bits and adding it warm to salads--often just for me, for lunch, but it's such an easy trick to add a little heft to salads. It also changes the texture and temperature just enough to make it interesting.... Read more »

This is a lovely combination any time of year. You can substitute cooked barley or farro for the lentils. You can add lots of cilantro (or parsley) to the dressing. Adapt as you see fit as it's a great base for many ingredients.  And this makes a lot of salad so feel free to half the recipe if you'd like. ... Read more »

This dish is quite garlicky. Reduce if you want it milder. And you can substitute spinach, chard or turnips greens if you don't have beet greens.... Read more »

To Roast: I like to roast, steam or boil a bunch or two all at once. I use them throughout the week in various salads and other dishes. Sometimes I add diced avocado and lots of cilantro and mix that with lettuce; sometimes it's sunflower seeds, lettuce, green onion and feta. . .   Preheat oven to 400 degrees.   1 bunch beets, trimmed of any greens and scrubbed but not peeled. If they’re large I cut them in half or quarter them. Place the beets in a baking dish, sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons of water and cover tightly with foil.  Roast for about 45 minutes (depending on size of your chunks of beet).  A tester should easily pierce the beet.   When cool enough to handle slip the skin off. If you’d like toss them when still warm with a little red wine or sherry vinegar and a bit of salt. Beets do well with a little acidity and if you toss them in oil first the vinegar won’t get absorbed. Now you can add them to salads of many kinds. Or skip the vinegar and puree them into a spread or pesto.  To Boil: Scrub and trim the beets, halve or quarter if they are large. Put them in a saucepan covered with water and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered, until tender when pierced with the tip of knife. When cool enough to handle, peel and toss with vinegar (see above) if you're likely to use them in salads.   To Steam: Scrub and trim the beets, halve or quarter if they are large. Set a steamer basket in a pot and fill with water to the bottom of the basket. Place beets in the basket. Cover and bring water to a boil and simmer until tender.  ... Read more »

  There are a couple of favorite sandwiches I make that greatly benefit from a good layer of arugula or sorrel. These aren't really recipes but just ideas for good combinations. ... Read more »

--adapted from Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry   This is a gorgeous and refreshing salad--no surprise from the talented and wonderful Bryant Terry. ... Read more »

Beets are the perfect treat to add to salads, sandwiches, make it into spread, etc. The greens are delicious and can be used like you would chard or spinach. Since they take a while to cook, it's easiest to roast or boil a bunch of them all at once.   Beets can also be eaten raw, thinly shaved or grated. They make a lovely addition to both green and grain salads in this form, especially after they've briefly marinated in a little vinegar.      ... Read more »