What do I do with these beets?

I bought a couple of bunches of beets last week at a farmers market. They sat around a couple of days and my family found their presence ugly. I roasted and peeled them last Sunday, and am rapidly reaching a point where they must be used. But for what?

I'm not going to can them. That's to easy to buy. I've searched a bunch of recipes and nothing seems to inspire. I like beets and I'm hoping to get others in the house to try! Any suggestions ... please?

And another thing: what's with the rash of frying capers?

Mark Bittman has a recipe for beet rosti that's pretty good. A pound to a pound and a half of beets, coarsely grated, mixed with some chopped rosemary, salt, flour, and fried like a latke in a bit of butter. Quite tasty.

Hi,

You could simply grate them, add some sour cream and dill (some people have added dried mustard) for a salad.

You're probably not in the mood to use them in soup, though Borscht can be quite lovely.

If you go over the the Useful Stuff board, there are links to recipe websites, which will likely inspire you.

Hmm. I like the idea of grating the beets, C2. Maybe I could use them to make a gory side dish the kids might try on Halloween!

I usually cut them in chunks and dress them simply with a little orange juice, vinegar (sherry vinegar is particularly good) salt, pepper, and perhaps a little olive oil. You can serve them alone, or with sliced oranges and oil-cured olives, or with a little sliced red onion.

They are universally popular among those who like beets.

For the rosti, do the beets need to be cooked before grating them or is the frying sufficient to cook them.

ebohlman wrote:For the rosti, do the beets need to be cooked before grating them or is the frying sufficient to cook them.

Nope, they're not cooked first.

One of the side dishes I made for Christmas was roasted orange beets in a butter and cream sauce. It was a hit. Just takes a couple minutes once you've got the beets roasted.

Cut a pound or so into 1/2 dice and saute with butter until hot. In a separate pan - or the same pan with the beets removed and covered - boil cream to reduce. A half cup boiled down to a quarter should be sufficient for a pound of beets. Use more cream or reduce less if you want it soupier. Toss the beets and season with salt and pepper to taste.

I also like beets with a yogurt/garlic dressing (mash cloves with salt in a mortar and pestle and mix with yogurt ... goats milk yogurt is great with this). Top it with parsley and chopped toasted walnuts. Beets are great with carmelized onions ... and maybe some arugula for a bitter component.

A little more labor intensive, but beet ravioli are excellent. I believe these, called casunziei, are a Christmas time dish in the Veneto. With a simple butter and poppy-seed sauce and some smoked cheese, incredible. I came across a recipe for this in Michal Negrin's excellent book of regional Italian cooking, Rustico.

Ciao,

rien

Another good way to have beets--a beet,red onion and mango salad. Very simple once the beets are roasted. Slice or chunk the beets, thinly slice the onion and slice or chunk a nice ripe mango. Dress with a light dressing of olive oil,citrus juice(my fav is orange, but you can also use lemon or lime) citrus zest, s & p to taste and you have a wonderful refreshing salad. I know the ingredients sound unusual, but they work. Hope you enjoy it!

Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab does a nice vegetable chopped salad that includes beets with crumbled bleu cheese and creamy vinaigrette.