Week Two’s Recipes

Think you don’t like beets?

Beets were a new vegetable for us when we first starting farming. 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 out there:

Raw beets!
Beets can actually be eaten raw, especially when they’re the smaller, tender 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 if it boils off.

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. 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 if it bothers you).

Fried beets!
This is our ultimate favorite way to eat beets. Casey first tried this out after hearing someone describe a similar dish on NPR. We didn’t have the actual recipe, so made up our own version:

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 visibly 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).

We love beet fritters as a filling accompaniment to our BGS (Big Green Salad) meals, but they have a great sweet and savory flavor that would complement other meat and vegetable dishes as well.

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. A few fun variations that we’ve enjoyed:

Serving size:
1 cup of beets (less than one bunch) makes 3 medium sized fritters

And don’t forget: beet greens are yummy too! (Also, 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!

Chard Tart

We found this recipe in one of our other favorite cookbooks, the newest edition of The Joy of Cooking. Although it involves making a crust and a fair number of ingredients, it is actually quite easy. You can also use beet or turnip greens, in addition to or in place of chard.

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

To prepare the pastry, whisk together in a medium bowl:

Stir in with a fork until thoroughly blended:

The dough will be very crumbly and difficult to roll, so press it evenly into an 11-inch tart pan with a removable rim (we just use a normal pie pan). Bake until the crust is set and lightly golden, 10 to 15 minutes, pricking the bottom once or twice if it bubbles.

Meanwhile, cook in a large skillet over medium-low heat until well softened, stirring occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes:

Increase the heat to medium and add and cook until tender, 8 to 10 minutes:

Season with:

Combine a bowl:

Add the chard mixture, then scrape the mixture into the prepared tart shell and spread evenly. Reduce the oven to 375°F. Bake until the filling is golden and firm, 25 to 35 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before serving.