I had a particularly nasty encounter with pickled beets when I was a child. Ever since then I have run from them as I would run from a doll that looks even remotely like that clown doll in Poltergeist. Not that I encountered them often, beets that is. Beets are a much ignored vegetable in today's cuisine.
One of the reasons why I signed up for a CSA was so I couldn't hide from vegetables I was biased against. I tend to hold a grudge against veggies over one bad experience and I don't let go easily. So signing up for a CSA was a way of forcing myself into immersion therapy. And I have to say, it's working.
The first time I saw beets on the chalkboard at my farm's stand my mind
went blank. I didn't know any recipes for beets and even in cookbooks
I liked, I flipped by those pages. What would I make? What should I
get to go with it? I had no idea.
Once I got home the cookbook pile began. I was frantically searching through every book I owned for a recipe and I came across one in Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express that sounded wonderfully easy. It was a for a beet and goat cheese salad. The only thing was, it's a lot of beets. So if I ended up not liking them l the meal would be a bust. I decided to take the chance.
The interesting thing about the recipe was that the beets are cooked in the microwave. It was a busy week so I was all for the quickness, but was a little skeptical if the microwave was the best tool for bringing out the taste of the beets. They ended up tasting good enough that I didn't mind when they showed up in my CSA the next time. But, after preparing them different ways since then, I don't think that's the best way to cook them although not bad in a time crunch.
I think the hardest thing about dealing with beets is peeling them. Especially the red ones. They stain, so you have to be careful and they can be slippery. A dangerous combination indeed. They are much easier to peel after they've been boiled or microwaved for a while and the skin comes off much easier then.
Since my first experience, my boyfriend has made beet pancakes (a variation of a vegetable pancake recipe in How To Cook Everything Vegetarian) that were delicious though incredibly messy. I have also made a glazed beet recipe out of the Gourmet Today cookbook. I think the Gourmet Today recipe is my favorite so far, but I have some beet chips in the oven so we'll see how they turn out!
If you've never eaten beets before, at least red beets, keep in mind that not everybody digests the dye so you may end up seeing it later on... if you know what I mean. I don't mean to touch on gross topics in a food blog, but I figure some might appreciate the heads up.
While I might not be as big of a fan as Dwight from The Office, I am a beet convert. Though I'm still afraid of those clown dolls, I no longer run the opposite direction from tasty beets. I think next time I might attempt a borscht. Let me know if you have a good recipe!
UPDATE: Just got a great tip via twitter from Jill Nussinow, @theveggiequeen. She mentioned that if you cook beets in a pressure cooker (for 3-5 minutes) there is no need to peel them. What a time saver!!
Recent Comments