When people tell me they hate beets, I can’t understand for the life of me why! They are so sweet, they taste like candy to me! I grew up munching on beets my mother prepared for me on warm summer nights that came from my father’s garden. Home grown beets taste the best. Here at provisions our CSA members received BEETS in their share this month, and let me tell you, Norwich Meadow Farm’s beets are right up there with my father’s beets when it comes to amazing quality and taste.

 

Why should you eat beets?

THE HEALTH BENEFITS  FOR BEETS (ACCORDING TO MARTHA STEWART):

For centuries, people have used beets as a remedy for ailments from constipation to blood-related problems. In the 1950s an enterprising Hungarian physician treated his cancer patients with a regimen based on a daily quart of raw red beet juice. While his methods were questionable, the idea of beets as cancer fighters isn’t far-fetched. Red beets get their garnet color from antioxidants called betalains. These vivid pigments help your body detoxify potentially cancer-causing substances; studies show that betanin, one type of betalain, is effective in preventing lung, liver, and skin cancer.

The other medicinal claims for beets make sense, too. A good source of fiber, including a type of soluble fiber called pectin, beets keep your digestive system running smoothly. They also contain iron, essential for red blood cell production, as well as potassium and folate, known respectively for regulating blood pressure and protecting your heart. Whatever you do, don’t discard the greens. They also contain folate and plenty of fiber, potassium, beta-carotene, and vitamin K, which is necessary for proper blood clotting. (For more info check out MarthaStewart.com)

Cooking Tips For BEETS:

Preparing beets is a messy business. They stain everything they touch a vivid pink (not a problem with golden beets). Roasting and steaming them with their skins on keeps the color where it belongs; the skins slip off easily once cooked. Prepare beet greens as you would Swiss chard, sauteing the chopped stems and leaves with a little garlic.

 

Here are some of my favorite beet recipes that are VERY EASY!

I am a firm believer that it is essential to know great tasting recipes that can also be made easily. Try ‘em out and let us know how they taste. WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK!!

***“Michele Spin on a Beet Salad” is to add thinly sliced apple to the mix. Its a great way to get in your apple for the day!***

Beet & Walnut Salad: (Side Bar Note- Beets and Red Onions go wonderfully together)!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 heart romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1 can 14 ounces sliced beets, drained and chopped
• 4 radishes, chopped
• 1/2 small red onion, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 tablespoons black cherry, seedless raspberry or apricot preserved
• 2 tablespoons vinegar, eyeball it
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds, optional
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Toast nuts in a small pan over medium heat, 3 to 4 minutes, then let them cool.

Combine chopped lettuce, beets, radishes, onion, celery and toasted walnuts in a shallow bowl. Place the preserves into a small bowl and whisk vinegar into it. Add poppy seeds to dressing if you are using them. Whisk extra-virgin olive oil into the dressing and season it with salt and pepper. Dress salad and toss to coat evenly then adjust salt and pepper to your taste.

 

 

 

Beet and Goat Cheese Arugula Salad

(This is a recipe from Giada De Laurentiis and its goooood! A Tip From Michele: The goat cheese can be replaced with blue cheese if preferred)

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 medium beets, cooked and quartered
• 6 cups fresh arugula
• 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries or dried cherries
• 1/2 avocado, peeled, pitted, and cubed
• 3 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled

Directions (Takes 12 minutes to make)!

Line a baking sheet with foil. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Whisk the vinegar, shallots, and honey in a medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in the oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with salt and pepper. Toss the beets in a small bowl with enough dressing to coat. Place the beets on the prepared baking sheet and roast until the beets are slightly caramelized, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Set aside and cool.

Toss the arugula, walnuts, and cranberries in a large bowl with enough vinaigrette to coat. Season the salad, to taste, with salt and pepper. Mound the salad atop 4 plates. Arrange the beets around the salad. Sprinkle with the avocado and goat cheese, and serve.

Pickled Beet Salad

(CSA MEMBERS, here is a way you can use your pickled beets. PICKLED BEETS ARE ALSO SOLD HERE)

Cook time: 30 mins

Ingredients

Pickled Beets:

• 2 pounds beets, trimmed and washed
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, sliced
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cardamom seeds
• 1 tablespoon whole cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 pickled gherkins, chopped
• 1 apple, peeled and chopped
• 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons freshly grated horseradish root (or 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish)
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Directions

Place the beets in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer the beets, loosely covered, for 25 to 30 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork. Drain the beets, reserving 2 cups of the cooking liquid. When cool enough to handle, rub the skins off.

Slice the beets into strips and place in a 1-quart jar, along with the onion and garlic. In a saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar, cardamom seeds, cloves, salt, and the reserved cooking liquid. Heat just enough to dissolve the sugar, while stirring. Pour warm vinegar liquid over the beets, onion and garlic in the jar. Let cool to room temperature, then cover, and refrigerate overnight. (Pickled beets will keep for 1 week in the refrigerator.)

In a large bowl, combine the pickled beets, gherkins, and apple. In a small bowl, blend together the horseradish, sour cream, salt, and sugar, and add to the pickled beet mixture. Stir gently, cover and refrigerate. Serve salad chilled.

Pasta with Beets and Blue Cheese

(A Martha Stewart Favorite)

Prep: 15 minutes
Total: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 2 pounds small red or golden beets, scrubbed well
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 pound gemelli, or other short tubular pasta
• 6 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (1 cup)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place beets in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish; add 1/2 cup water. Seal dish tightly with foil. Bake beets until tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp paring knife, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool 10 minutes. Using a paper towel, rub off skins. Slice beets into wedges.
2. In a large bowl, toss beets with garlic, orange juice, oil, and coriander; season with salt and pepper.
3. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of cooking water. Return the pasta to the pot; toss with half of the blue cheese and enough reserved pasta water to coat pasta. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Divide the pasta mixture among plates; top with beets and remaining blue cheese. Serve immediately.

THIS LAST RECIPE IS IF YOU ARE FEELING ESPECIALLY CREATIVE. It is a MarthaStewart.com recipe, and it is more complex than the others, but definitely good to make if you want to impress people!

 

Chocolate-Beet Cakes with Candied Beets and Rose Petals

Directions

1. To make the candied beets: Divide simple syrup evenly between three medium saucepans. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add each variety of beets to a different saucepan and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer until beets are translucent, about 1 hour. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
2. Line a baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper. Place sugar in a shallow dish. Gently drain beets, taking care not to break them, and dredge in sugar. Transfer to baking sheet and place in a cold oven to dry overnight. Beets may be kept in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
3. To make the cake: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Trim the tops from beets, leaving about 1 inch of the stems. Line a large piece of aluminum foil with a piece of parchment paper; make a bed of coarse salt in the center. Place beet on salt and tightly wrap foil to enclose. Transfer to oven and roast until beets are very tender, about 1 hour.
4. When beets are cool enough to handle, peel and cut into large pieces. Transfer to the bowl of a food processor; process until very smooth. Strain and measure out 1/2 cup for the cake; reserve remaining beet puree for the sauce.
5. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-9-inch square baking pan; coat with sugar, tapping out excess, and set aside.
6. Sift together flour, baking soda, and 1/8 teaspoon salt onto a piece of parchment paper; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together sugar, egg, and oil on medium-high speed until pale and light. Beat in vanilla and slowly add flour mixture; beat until well combined. Add chocolate and beat until well combined. Add 1/2 cup beet puree and beat until well combined.
7. Pour batter into prepared pan and rap on the work surface to remove air bubbles. Transfer to oven and bake, rotating pan after 10 minutes of baking, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes total. Let cool completely before removing from pan.
8. To make the raspberry-beet sauce: Place the raspberries in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Strain, discarding solids, and measure out 1 cup of puree.
9. Place 1 cup raspberry puree in a medium saucepan along with 1/4 cup reserved beet puree and vanilla bean and seeds. Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil.
10. In a small bowl, mix together sugar and apple pectin; add to saucepan and return to a boil. Strain sauce into a medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Transfer to refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
11. To serve: Using a 3 1/2-inch heart-shaped cutter, cut out six heart shapes from the cake. Using a 1 1/2-inch heat-shaped cutter, cut out the center of each 3 1/2-inch heart. Dust large hearts with confectioners’ sugar; place one on each of six plates. Fill the center of each heart with raspberry-beet sauce and drizzle some of the sauce on the plate. Lean the smaller heart against the larger heart.
12. Using a soup spoon, scoop up a mounded spoonful of vanilla whipped cream; slide second soup spoon on top of first, with spoons pointing in opposite directions. Spoon whipped cream back and forth a few times, scraping it into a small, neat egg shape. Place on one of the plates. Repeat process five times until each plate has a scoop of whipped cream. Crush a rose petal over each plate and serve immediately.

*A FINAL WORD OF KNOWLEDGE ON BEETS… BEETS ARE SWEETER THAN SOME FRUIT INCLUDING STRAWBERRIES AND WATERMELONS AND A HALF CUP OF COOKED BEETS HAS ONLY 37 CALORIES!

So enjoy your beets!!!!*

 

This is a Recipe that was sent to us from one of our CSA Members…  try it…

CIDER VINEGAR  &  BEET BORSCHT

From FLAVORED OILS & VINEGAR COOKBOOK

Flavored Caraway Cider Vinegar:

1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp caraway seeds

In a small skillet toast seeds for 1-2 minutes
In a small sauce pan add vinegar and bring to a simmer. 
Add seeds and simmer low for 8 minutes.

Cool and store in a dark place.

Beet and Caraway Borscht:

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp cararway seeds
2 medium onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 potato peeled and diced
6 cups vegetable stock
1/4 cup caraway and cider vinegar
2 lbs cooked beets, diced
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped parsley and cilantro, plus extra for garnish
sour cream, to serve

Serves 4

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat, add the olive oil, and saute the caraway seeds for 1 minute.  Add the oinion and stir until it become translucent.  Add the parlic and stir in.

Add the potato to the pot, saute for a few minutes, and add the stock and vinegar.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Lower the heat and simmer for about 8 Minutes.  Add the cooked beets, salt, pepper and bring to boil again.  Lower the heat, partly cover the pot, and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.

Add the lemon juice and herbs and cook for 5 more minutes.  Taste and adjust seasonings.

When the soups cools a little, remove one-third of it to a blender or food processor and process until pureed.  Add back to the pot, mix, reheat, and serve. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and additional chopped herbs.

(Inspired by The Barefoot Contessa. YUMMY! This will be in my own oven soon).

Is anyone else from our CSA wondering what to do with their parsnips? They seem like an exotic veggie that many are unfamiliar with, but they contain a lot of fiber which is great for digestion and their sweet taste is satisfying without the guilty feeling of consuming something high in calories. The type of fiber they contain is soluble fiber which helps lower cholesterol. They also have a great source of folic acid which may help prevent heart disease, dementia, and osteoporosis. Unlike their relative, the carrot, they do not have beta-carotene. I have previously been led to believe that parsnips are the pale, smaller cousin of the carrot, but parsnips are very good for you and I want to try ‘em out for myself.

Here is a recipe that combines parsnips and its carrot cousin that is simple, healthy, and also delicious looking! I am making this recipe below tonight with my cousin who, like the parsnip, is the pale, smaller one… I will let you all know how it goes. I KID OF COURSE! Well… not really. She is more pale than I am, but I’m part Italiano and to be fair, I just got back from a tropical vacation. She is actually the one who inspired me to make veggies a main component in my diet. If anyone else tries this recipe, let me know what you think. I will be posting up more recipes, so stay tuned!

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 1 pound parsnips, peeled
• 1/2 pound carrots, unpeeled
• 2 tablespoons STONEHOUSE OLIO SANTO olive oil
• 3-4 cloves of garlic sliced
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt (you can use 1 table spoon, i just generally try not to use a lot of salt)
• 1  teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoons minced fresh dill or parsley

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

If the parsnips and carrots are very thick, cut them in half lengthwise. (The ones I got from this CSA share were not that thick). Slice each diagonally in 1-inch-thick slices. The vegetables will shrink while cooking, so don’t make the pieces too small. Place the cut vegetables on a sheet pan. Add the olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper and toss well. Roast for 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the vegetables, tossing occasionally, until the parsnips and carrots are just tender. Sprinkle with dill or parsley and serve hot.