Think you don’t like beets?
Beets were a new vegetable for us when we first starting farming in 2004. We’d had the canned version, which we didn’t much like, but we were willing to try anything growing in the fields. Now, we love beets. Here are four of our favorite ways to eat them, which will hopefully convert the skeptics:
Raw beets!
Beets can be eaten raw, especially when they’re the smaller roots. We enjoy beets sliced thin and piled on a BGS (Big Green Salad). Some people prefer to grate them for a salad topping.
Steamed beets!
If you prefer cooked beets, steaming them is the simplest way to cook them. You don’t need to peel or slice—just slightly trim the ends. If you have varying sized beets, cut the larger beet into two or more pieces so that they’ll cook at the same rate as the smaller beets. Add about an inch of water to a saucepan; add the beets; and put it on the stove on high. Once the water is boiling, turn stove to medium. Cook until the beets are tender; check by sticking them with a knife—it should slide in without resistance. Actual cooking time will vary depending on size of beets, but it will range from five to fifteen minutes. Add water as necessary.
You can eat the steamed beets anyway you like. If you prefer them without the skin, it should be easy to slide off once cooked. Just rub the skin off with your fingers.
Pickled beets!
Once steamed, you might enjoy slightly pickled beets. Chop your beets into largish bite-sized chunks and put them in a bowl or mason jar. Add a touch of oil and then vinegar to taste. You can also add salt and pepper. Mix, and preferably let sit for at least an hour before eating. You can serve as a side dish with a meal or on a salad. If you put the beets in a jar or container, they will store this way in your fridge for several weeks (but be aware that the oil might congeal in the cold—this is fine, just let the beets warm up slightly before serving).
Fried beets!
This is our ultimate favorite way to eat beets. We call this fried beet recipe ‘beet fritters’:
Coarsely grate about a bunch worth of beets (no need to peel first). Measure out the volume of the beets in a measuring cup (pack it tight). Empty into a bowl and then add about a third as much flour to the bowl as well. Add salt and pepper. Mix the grated beets, flour, salt and pepper with your hands. The consistency should be wet and sticky.
Once mixed, form into balls and then ‘squish’ into three or four-inch patties, ¼ – ½ inch thick. Heat up the oil of your choice (olive, canola, or butter) in a frying pan (medium-high temp). The oil should cover the bottom of your pan with a thin but visible layer.
Add the patties to the pan and cover with a lid, if possible (this will help the middle of the fritters cook). Turn when one side is slightly browned and crispy. Leave the lid off as the second side fries.
Once both sides are slightly browned and crispy, serve and eat immediately (this should probably be the last part of your meal that you cook).
This is a great recipe for playing around with, depending on how big you want your fritters and what else you might have on hand.
Serving size: 1 cup of beets (less than one bunch) makes 3 medium sized fritters
And don’t forget: beet greens are yummy too! (Beets and chard are cousins, so you can almost treat the beet greens exactly the same as chard, or even use them in the same recipes.)
A final ‘warning’ about beets: they, um, color your, um, ‘outputs’—so don’t be scared the next day if you see pinkish red in the bowl!
Fava beans 101
(read before cooking!)
Fava beans, also known as ‘broad beans,’ were the only bean in Europe before the introduction of beans from the Americas. Favas continue to have a solid place in Italian cooking but are rare in the United States. We only recently began eating them and have completely fallen in love with their sweet tender flavor. Although preparing them takes extra time, they are worth the effort—especially since favas are available only briefly in early summer!
To enjoy fava beans, you must first shuck the bean from the outer shell, much like shelling peas. However, unlike peas, there is a second step as well. Each individual inner bean has a slightly bitter skin that should be removed for best flavor and texture. You can peel each one with a paring knife. However, we prefer to quickly blanche the shelled beans in boiling water (about one minute), then cool them by dunking in cold water and draining. After blanching, they should more or less ‘pop’ or slide out of the skin.
Once you have only the inner beans (which range in color from a creamy green to a delightful bright green), you’re ready to include favas in your meal. If you’ve blanched them, they should be partially cooked already, but we recommend cooking them further in order to achieve a tender texture. You can boil them for 5-10 minutes or add them to another baked/sautéed dish.
Before deciding what to do with your favas, try tasting them plain. You may be inspired to serve them in a simple preparation, such as salted on pasta. Or, you may prefer to mash them and spread on toasted baguette slices as a tasty appetizer.
