I noticed on another thread that BEETS are quite healthy. Thing is I've always been intimidated by them and have never used them, but would like to.

I'd love if you'd all share some good recipes and or ideas using either fresh or canned beets. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I love beetroot - it one of my fave food types (shock horror)! I grate raw as a salad and also use it in juice (with oranges and apples). I heard it is good for you as well but fir htose who dont like the taste a honey based salad dressing will take away that bitter taste.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Apple-B...ad/Detail.aspx

Robin - I made this really good salad last week. I bought already cooked beets from Trader Joes and needed something to do with them. So I didn't have to go through the cooking and peeling step, which is quite a mess with fresh beets. I actually think it would be good with canned beets too. I followed the recipe pretty closely, but I added fat free crumbled feta cheese. The combination of flavors from the toasted walnuts (I only ate about a teaspoon on mine), the avocado, the apples, beets, and feta was reallly very delicious.

Also - it makes way more dressing than you need!!!

Also, you'll notice allrecipes has TONs of other interesting looking beet recipes.

Let us know what you try.

Hi Robin!

I was in your shoes last week and sent out an SOS and got some great ideas...
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=145896

I thought YOU would have the beet recipes

Oh Jen, I feel SO dopey, I didn't even notice that thread. Dopey me. Thanks.

Claire, thanks for the link. Dopey me AGAIN. I didn't even think of doing a search. My first thought was to ask my very knowledgable 3FC buddies.

Recipes are tricky on this site. If I'm looking for something specific, rarely is the search successful. I don't know why that is

Anyway, I roasted them with swiss chard (I cut up the stems, too), red onions, garlic and vinaigrette. So yummy! In fact, I think I'm going to have that for lunch today

I just had the most awesome beet soup.. no, not borscht... thisa chilled beet soup.. here is what the host said when I asked how to make it..

it is called holodnik

peel beets and carrots, put in pot with some lemon juice and a bit of salt. boil till tender. remove beets and carrots, add cubed potatoes, cook till tender. remove from heat

Grate or chop beets and carrots. add back into beet liquid and potatos. Let cool.

dice cucumbers. grate some hard boiled eggs. chop some dill and scallions.

When soup is chilled or cold, ladle into bowls, add in cold cucumbers, some of the egg and top with some dill and scallions. Add a dollops of sour cream, yogurt or even a splash of milk.

serve. It is very fresh.. and well.. refreshing!

For a while I was on a beet salad kick, using a recipe I got out of our local paper (but adapted to be a main dish salad). Here is the recipe:

Beet-Hater's Salad
OK, seriously, the columnist called it that because she said she hated beets but loved this salad. I have to say, though, that I think she was the exception that proves the rule. If you really hate beets, I don't think you'd
like this salad.

Dressing

• 2 oz light feta
• 1/2 cup parsley
• 1/2 cup non-fat yogurt
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic

Salad

• 8 oz spinach, chopped
• 8 oz cucumber, chopped
• 4 oz scallions, sliced thinly
• 8 oz celery, chopped
• 16 oz chicken, cooked and chopped (I seasoned the chicken with salt and lemon pepper before cooking it)
• 8 oz beets, cooked and chopped
• 4 oz orange or tangerine slices
• 2 oz light feta, crumbled
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

To make dressing, throw all ingredients into a blender or food processor and puree.

To make salad, toss spinach, cucumber, scallions and celery with dressing. Top with chicken, beets, orange or tangerine slices, feta, and pumpkin seeds.

This makes four servings at about 280 calories each. Note that all the salad ingredients are easily divisible by four (one of my adaptations to the recipe). You can make a whole batch of the dressing and store it in the fridge for at least a week, then make individual salads using one-fourth of the dressing at a time.

Barbara, this sounds GREAT. Thanks. Little question. I haven't a clue as to how to cook a beet . Care to share?

Robin,
You can boil beets or roast them in the oven.

• To boil them, cover them with water, bring to a boil and simmer until they can be pierced easily with a fork (same test you'd used for a baked potato).
• To roast them, put them in a shallow baking dish with a little water (just enough to cover the bottom of the dish) and bake them at 400 or so degrees until they can be easily pierced with a fork. If all the water evaporates before they are fully cooked, add a little more.

It can take a while to cook beets. Under both methods, I'd guess it will take anywhere from 30 to 60 min, depending on how large the beets are.

You don't need to peel the beets before cooking them. Just cook them with the skin on, then you'll be able to easily slip the skin off once they are cooked.

Also, just a word to the wise: if you are using red beets, you will probably pee bright red after eating them. My pee was so bright red I thought something was seriously wrong and almost went to the emergency room, until I remembered eating the beets.

I love this thread! I ate beets for the first time last weekend in Las Vegas and really enjoyed them. I intend to try cooking them myself sometime in the not too distant future. Thanks for all the great ideas.

I love plain old roasted beets. I either boil them in their skins beforehand (so the skins slip off easily), or roast them until tender and the skins can be removed. Once the skin is off, quarter them and toss them with a little olive oil, some good sea salt, and fresh cracked pepper. Roast until they're done how you like them (I like them cooked until they shrivel just a little and get slightly crispy edges), and eat. So good!!

My grandmother always made a beet/horseradish relish (Polish) that's really good with almost anything - you boil the beets until tender, remove the skins, then grate them into a saucepan. Add some vinegar, brown sugar and prepared horseradish, along with some salt and pepper (adjust to your tastes - there should be a good balance of sweet, tart, spicy and salty). Bring to a boil over low heat, then cool and store in the fridge. I've used it as a spread on sandwiches, or just on the side of grilled chicken or beef.

Here's a couple ways I tried beets this week - both were yummy!

Polish-style Beets
Beets
Balsamic vinegar*
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Dried oregano (fresh will work as well)

Remove the tops from the beets and scrub outsides with a vegetable brush and water. Place into a pot and just cover with water. Cook the beets in boiling water 20 to 30 minutes, or until a fork can be fairly easily inserted into the thick of one of the larger beets (you may need to remove smaller beets if they cook faster than larger ones).

When the beets are finished cooking, carefully pour out hot water and replace with cold to help the beets cool. When they're cooled enough that you can work with them, slip the skins off of the beets, slice into rounds about 1/4" thick and place into a bowl. You may find that doing this under running water is easiest.

While the sliced beets are still warm, douse them with vinegar, oil, salt, pepper, and dried oregano to taste. Gently mix the beets and allow the flavors to mix, perhaps 20 to 30 minutes. Serve at room temp. or chilled.

* Flavored berry vinegars work well with this dish too (i.e., blackberry, raspberry, etc).

I actually microwaved my beets - 3 minutes, then turned them, then another 3 minutes, and it worked great.

Beet-carrot-apple-raisin-walnut salad
Grate up a few carrots and a raw beet (scrubbed and peeled lightly with a vegetable peeler first). Add cut up apple, a handful of raisins, and some nuts (toasted if you have the time and inclination! A few mintues in the toaster oven does the trick). Stir in a dollop of mayo to incorporate everything and serve! You can enhance the mayo with a little lemon juice, honey and cinnamon for added yum.

I left out the mayo and added just a bit of lemon juice. I really liked this, although all that grating was a lot of work!
Cindy

I love beets too. I mentioned a Beet Relish in the other thread and Cindy PM'd me for the recipe. So in case the rest of you are interested, here it is. It's from Putting Food By by Ruth Hertzberg, Beatrice Vaughn and Janet Greene

Beet Relish

12 cooked medium beets
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 cups finely chopped cabbage
1 sweet red pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1.5 tsp salt
.75 cup sugar
1.5 cups vinegar
2 TBSP prepared horseradish

Put all the vegetables through a food grinder, using a corse knife/grind. Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Ladle into hot pint canning jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headroom. Process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes. Makes about 3.5 pints.

If you're not into canning, just keep in the fridge, though the canning melds the flavors really well. If you keeping in the fridge, let it age for several weeks before using. Goes great with pork.