I'm going to buy some fresh beets for the first time this weekend and I have no clue how best to cook them!

Any advice/tips?

Thanks in advance .

LynneA - I grow beets in my garden. Generally I pickle them but you can cook them and enjoy them also. If they are fresh you will have to boil them until they are tender (should be able to pierce easily with a fork.) Drain and put in cool water. After they have cooled some, remove the skin. You should be able to just pull it off with your hands at this point. From there you can eat them as is, mash them or make a light cream to go on top. They are messy to fix and can stain clothes and hands. BUT they are excellent to eat and VERY healthy. Good luck.

Hrm, so I don't peel them first? For some reason I thought they might be similar to a swede or turnip. It does sound very messy, I might just buy a jar of pickled instead.

My favorite way to eat beets is... raw
I found this raw beet salad in a cookbook I have (not with me at the moment)

Peel the beets
Shred them (food processor is easiest)
Shred some apples and/or carrots
Add a little red wine vinegar
Add a little olive oil
Add some ginger
Sprinkle with medium ground pepper and salt

Mix all that together and it is delicious

Buy canned beets if you want to avoid the mess.
If you peel the fresh beets before you cook them, it's a messy job too and the lovely red leeches out in the water. Beets can also be baked (skins on!) and are just yummy!
Preheat the oven to 375ºF, place the beets whole and not peeled on a baking sheet and roast for an hour or more or until tender when pierced with a fork. I run cold water over them and the skins slip right off. You can also cool them and then take off the skins.
I hope this helps.

If you can, buy golden or chiogga beets in your supermarket. All the yummy flavor, very little of the finger-staining potential.

I make a chiogga beet risotto - just make a plain risotto with a little onion and garlic, then stir in diced cooked chiogga beets. So pretty and SO tasty.

Thanks for the ideas all, the beet salad sounds lovely and I never thought of roasting them!

Thanks again .

Hmmmm.....beets are a veggie I decided that I HATED as a kid! Actually, I hated almost EVERY veggies as a kid and now love them all since I've given them a second chance. I haven't tried beets again since childhood so they are now due a second chance!

I think I'll try the canned ones, thanks for the ideas! I'm always looking to increase my veggie consumption

I cut the tops off and then peel them in the sink so the juice doesn't get everywhere. I boil them just as I would potatoes - just until tender.

I drain them using a metal colander and return them to the pot, add a little butter and garlic salt to taste, making sure to toss the beets so that the butter and garlic salt hit all of them. Yum!

cook them, and cool them off

mix them with tomatos and avocados for a very yummy salad

Is the skin completely inedible (for lots of vegetables, the skin is very nutritious)? If I roast them, do I have to slip the skin off or can I open them like a baked potato and just scoop out the flesh?

Ewww, you do not want to eat the skin, at least on a full-grown beet! If you get little baby ones - like golf ball size - you could, but I wouldn't. We grow beets, and I love them in all stages, but I've never heard of that salad. I'm going to try it. I love them best when they're little. I boil them, peel them (as described above) and eat hot with just a litle real butter and salt. Have almost a corn-like flavor. I can my own pickled beets, and we eat them all winter, either as a side or an addition to a salad. Roasting is good for the bigger beets. Like all roasted veggies, they get sweeter.