Some food naturally elicit dividing opinions. Beets definitely falls into this category. I am partial to beets and the only reason I don’t prepare them more often is because I don’t like my fingers stained red. I even went through a phase eating half a jar of pickled beets in one sitting. That was followed by eating drained canned rosebud beets at room temperature. Those are not one of my prouder culinary moments.
Once I found out cooking fresh beets was not such a big deal, I started enjoying beets in many different ways. I like them grated raw and tossed with rice vinegar like a coleslaw. Another beet salad that I like is beets & carrots wheat berries salad. It is a lot more substantial and I adore the nutty chewy wheat berries. Of course borscht either hot or cold is pretty fantastic. However, simple is usually the best.
People usually rave about the concentrated sweetness of roasted beets but I much prefer them boiled. I love to blitz the boiled beets into beet hummus following the recipe from Elise. It has all the signature flavours of hummus but not beany. When you combine garlic, cumin, tahini, lemon, and garlic, only good things can happen. It’s such a low caloric dip too compared to traditional hummus that I can eat it by the spoonful without feeling bloated. When I’m feeling fancy, I may even spread it on crisp bread like Ryvita and top with a pinch of briny feta cheese.
When the beet craving strikes and I’m too lazy to do real cooking, I like to dress boiled beets with flavourful vinegar, sharp mustard, and a squeeze of lemon juice. The only downside is that the beets take such a long time to cook so it’s not exactly instant meal. However, actual active time is minimal and I can easily finish a pound or two of beets in one meal. Good thing too because I receive beets very often in my CSA share so I better have a few tricks up my sleeve to prepare this root vegetable.
Are you a beet-hater or do you love them? What are some unusual ways to enjoy beets?
