Eat Your Beets

Always cook beetroots with the skin on. The simplest method is to wrap each beetroot individually in foil. Place on a cookie sheet and roast in the oven at 400 for 40 minutes or so, depending on size, until easily pierced with a fork. Allow to cool and slip off the skins. Remember to use gloves, unless you want pink fingers. Then use as desired. Beets simply dressed with butter, salt and pepper are delicious. For an old school method, put smaller fresh beetroots and greens together in large pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 40 minutes, cool slightly, slip off skins and serve.

Once upon a time beets were on the hit list of most-hated vegetables.

Nowadays, though, the hard red root is seen in a rainbow of colors, has come to be regarded as healthful and chic, and is nearly ubiquitous on restaurant menus.

Here are some things we’ve learned, since we stopped turning up our noses.

Beetroots are versatile. Roasted, boiled, steamed or raw, they can be used to impart an earthy sweetness to salads, side dishes, main dishes or even desserts. And they are friendly with all kinds of flavors and seasonings. Eastern European, Greek, Middle Eastern, North African, Italian, Scandinavian. You name it, beets speak the international language of yum.

Beet greens are the secret surprise of this two-for-one vegetable. My Midwestern, Swedish mom, who never wasted anything, cooked the roots and the greens together. But you can chop the fresh greens and cook them like spinach or Swiss chard, or use them raw in salads or as a garnish.

Beetroots and beet greens really are good for you. They are a member of the family that includes such “super foods” as chard, spinach and quinoa. They are a source of phytonutrients called betalains, shown to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and contain lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamins K and A, folate, manganese, potassium and copper.

Best of all, beets are in season in Georgia now and into the winter months. Find them at farmers markets and supermarkets in root bunches with the greens on top. And check out our tips for buying and storing beetroots and greens, plus recipes for beet and carrot salad, beet pesto pasta, “trash fish” with beet salsa, and beet and chocolate ice cream.

Recipes

These beetroot recipes range from pasta with beet pesto to chocolate-beet ice cream. Don’t forget to use the beet greens for garnish. Or cook them like chard or spinach for a quick and easy two-for-one side.

Pappardelle With Winter Beet Pesto

This pesto is popular across Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. Its bright pink color can brighten bleak winter evenings when basil is not available. Paired with pasta, it makes a hearty, meat-free meal. But it also works well as a stuffing for chicken breasts.

2 garlic cloves

¼ cup walnuts

¼ cup olive oil

1 tablespoon salt

4 cooked and diced beets equal to one cup

½ cup ricotta cheese

1 pound pappardelle pasta

chopped fresh dill, for garnish

In a food processor or blender, combine garlic, walnuts, olive oil and salt to form a paste. Add cooked beets and ricotta cheese and blend until creamy. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pappardelle according to package directions.

To serve, toss the pasta with the beet pesto. Divide between four bowls and top with chopped dill or use chopped beet greens for garnish.

Serves: 4

Per serving: 658 calories (percent of calories from fat, 35), 21 grams protein, 90 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber, 24 grams fat (5 grams saturated), 16 milligrams cholesterol, 327 milligrams sodium.

Spiced Marinated Mackerel With Beet Salsa

This dish, adapted from a recipe by London chef Yotam Ottolenghi, celebrates “trash fish.” A zingy marinade cuts the oiliness of the mackerel. The bright beet salsa makes a tasty counterpoint.

For the fish:

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 tablespoon lemon zest

12 cardamom pods, crushed

8 small mackerel filets or other oily fish, such as bluefish, skin on and pin-boned

½ cup all purpose flour, salt and pepper

2 tablespoons butter

For the beet salsa:

3 medium beets, cooked, peeled and diced

1 shallot, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

Garnish: coriander leaves and Greek yogurt

In a food processor or blender, combine the oil, garlic, ginger, lemon zest and crushed cardamom pods. Blend to a rough paste. In a medium bowl, add the fish and coat with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, or up to 12 hours.

In a medium bowl, combine chopped beets, shallot, cumin, olive oil and lemon juice. Set aside.

Remove the fish from the marinade, scraping off most of it but leaving a bit for flavor, then transfer to a plate and discard the marinade.

Put the flour in a medium bowl with half a teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste. Dredge the fish in the flour to coat it on both sides, then shake off any excess. In a large nonstick frying pan on a medium-high heat, add a tablespoon of oil and half the butter. Once the butter starts to foam, lay in half the mackerel flesh-side down and cook for two minutes. Flip and fry for two minutes more, until cooked through, then remove from the pan, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and keep warm while you repeat with the remaining oil, butter and fish.

To serve:

Divide the fish between four plates and squeeze over the lemon juice. Spoon the beet salsa alongside and top that with a spoonful of yogurt. Sprinkle with coriander leaves and serve.

Serves: 4

Per serving: 682 calories (percent of calories from fat, 41), 78 grams protein, 20 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 30 grams fat (7 grams saturated), 212 milligrams cholesterol, 1,359 milligrams sodium.

Moroccan Beet and Carrot Salad With Apricots and Pistachios

This bright Moroccan beet salad is flavored with apricots, pistachios, mint and honey. For even more flavor, slice the beets as thinly as possible, and set aside to soften, allowing them to come close to a pickled consistency.

4 raw red and yellow beets, peeled and thinly sliced on a mandoline

1/4 cup olive oil

1/8 cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup grated carrots

½ cup chopped apricots

½ cup pistachios, toasted

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

¼ cup honey

cracked black pepper

In a medium bowl combine the beet slices, olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Cover the bowl and leave at room temperature for one hour or in the fridge for four hours or longer.

To serve:

Arrange the beet slices on four plates or a platter. Top with grated carrots, pistachios, apricots and mint leaves. Drizzle with honey and cracked pepper.

Serves: 4

Per serving: 340 calories (percent of calories from fat, 54), 6 grams protein, 36 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams fiber, 22 grams fat (3 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 548 milligrams sodium

Beet and Chocolate Ice Cream

Beet ice cream may seem odd. But this recipe adapted from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall River Cottage melds the sweetness of beets and the bitterness of dark chocolate in a semi-sweet treat with some extra texture.

1 cup cooked beets, pureed

1 ¼ cups milk

¼ cup heavy cream

4 egg yolks

½ cup sugar

3 ½ ounces dark chocolate, broken into small pieces

Combine the beets with ½ cup of the milk and set aside.

To make the custard:

Heat the remaining milk and cream in a saucepan until simmering. Allow to cool. Meanwhile whisk together egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and slowly add the warm milk and cream. Return to a clean saucepan and cook gently, stirring constantly, until thickened (about 3 minutes)

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. Stir the melted chocolate into the custard. Stir in the beet puree. Pass through a sieve and chill.

Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Or you can freeze in a shallow container, stirring with a fork every hour for three hours until frozen solid.

Makes: About 3 1/2 cups

Adapted from “River Cottage VEG” by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (Ten Speed Press, $35.00).