Just Beet It

I don’t recall ever eating beets as a kid. This may have been a chicken-egg situation – like most kids I was driven to eat the familiar, so perhaps my mom decided to play the odds and stay away from beets. As an adult I don’t know why I ever would have objected. Beetroot is mild and sweet, and the leaves delicate, more so than spinach.

Beets and spinach are part of the same plant family, Amaranthaceae. If the word amaranth brings to mind houseplants with ruffly, vivid, pink-red and green leaves, that’s because they’re part of the same family. Quinoa, a nutritional superstar, is not a grain, like many believe, but the seed of another member of the family. Beetroot, spinach, quinoa, and chard used to be separately classified from other amaranths, in a family called Chenopodiaceae, or, literally, “goosefeet,” named for their fleshy, ribbed leaves. Indeed, beet greens are not only edible but delicious. Swiss chard (or silverbeet) is a variant of beet specifically cultivated for its mild greens, but if you buy fresh beets with the tops attached, you can enjoy both the root and the leaves.

The famously vivid color of beets and chard stems is due to pigments collectively called betalains. The betacyanins lend red to purple hues; betaxanthins show off bright yellow, gold, and orange. As anyone who’s ever prepared beets knows, these pigments can end up all over the kitchen, your hands, and your clothes – beet cells are unstable and prone to leakage when cut, heated, or exposed to air. Add red beets to any dish and you can expect it to emerge brilliantly pink or purple.

Roasted beet salad with walnuts and Maytag blue

Golden beets – colored by betaxanthins – are no less vivid than their deep red counterparts. They do tend to taste milder and somewhat less “dirty” because of lower levels of geosmin, the compound that lends the earthy, dirty flavor to beets.
I used golden beets for this salad (to avoid problems with the ravioli later), but the typical red beet works perfectly. You can obtain spectacular results using Chioggia beets, an heirloom variety that, when sliced across the equator, displays a many-ringed bullseye.

In my opinion, the best way to prepare cooked beets is to roast them whole, in a foil package, at about 400F/205C, for about 45-60 minutes depending on the size of the beet. Drizzle the beet with a little oil before roasting. The steam from the beets softens the peel – once the beet is cooked through, the peel is easy to remove with a paring knife.
4 beets, scrubbed well, greens removed and reserved
2 ounces Maytag Blue or other blue cheese, cut into very small wedges or crumbled
2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) shelled walnuts, broken
2 c arugula, washed and spun dry
2 tbsp sherry vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil plus extra for roasting
Salt and pepper

Oven 400F/205C.

Drizzle the beets with a little oil before roasting. Place in aluminum foil and fold the foil over, sealing the sides to form a loose envelope. It is not necessary to form a perfect package. Roast for about 45-60 minutes depending on the size of the beet. At the last five to ten minutes of roasting, place the walnuts on a sheet pan and roast on a separate rack until golden. Remove from the oven.

Once the beets are tender to the center, remove from the oven and cool the beets. Remove with a paring knife or peel with your fingers (a paring knife may yield cleaner results and spare you the stained fingers).

Cut each beet into eighths and toss lightly with about 1 tbsp of the sherry vinegar. Arrange the wedges on individual plates, or on one large platter, along with the Maytag Blue and toasted walnuts. In a bowl, place the remaining tablespoon of sherry vinegar, a pinch of salt, and a little black pepper. Slowly drizzle the oil into the vinegar to form an emulsion. Dress the arugula and add it to the plates.

Finish with sea salt and pepper.