If you want to know what earth tastes like, eat a beet. This amazing root vegetable has an pure, earthy quality unmatched by any other vegetable. It’s dynamic color screams its unique vitamin, mineral and anti-oxident qualities. A true superfood, beets are one of the best vegetables to consume for their intense detoxification abilities. Higher in iron than spinach, beets have high contents of folate, vitamins A, B1, B2, B6 and C, as well as the minerals calcium, magnesium, copper, and phosphorous. Regular consumption of beets can aid in the cleansing of the liver from alcohol abuse, protecting against stomach and colon cancer, normalizing blood pressure and curing anemia.
But this isn’t the body section of mamaguru; this is food. Beets have a distinct, yet not overpowering flavor. Their earthy sweetness can help ground a meal and certainly add a new taste to the table. Because we eat with our eyes first, the color of beets excites the pallet before the first bite. Here are three fun recipes to bring beets to your life.
Bittersweet Beet Salad
Bittersweet is the nickname my husband and I gave each other when we were first dating and this recipe was inspired by him. Back in his single days, after a night of partying in South Beach, Andres loved to order orange beet juice at a hangover brunch the next day. This is yummy salad combines those two flavors beautifully and is worthy of entertaining.
2 beets
2 oranges
2 T white wine vinegar
1/2 t dry mustard powder
about 1/4 c olive oil
sea salt and black pepper
1 bunch or bag of arugula
2-4 oz goat cheese
1. Trim stems and root from beets. Place them in a small pot and cover with water. Boil for about 30 minutes. When beets are cool enough to handle, peel them. Cut them in half and then cut them into small wedges.
2. While beets are boiling, supreme oranges. To do this, simply cut off the top and bottom of the orange, then cut away all the peel. Hold the orange over a bowl to catch juices and carefully cut out the natural wedges.
3. Squeeze the remaining orange and the juicy part of the peel into the juice bowl. Add vinegar and mustard powder. Stream in olive oil while whisking until you reach your desired taste. Generously season with sea salt and pepper.
4. To assemble salad, place well-washed arugula in a large tossing bowl. Add about 2 T dressing and a handful of greens per serving. Toss salad well and taste to see that each leaf is covered. Place salad on plate. Add 3-4 wedges of beet and oranges. Dollop with goat cheese. You can season it once more with salt and pepper if you like. Enjoy.
Chips Ahoy! Beet, Sweet Potato and Plantain Chip Medley
A fun snack for any occasion. Perfect for adults who want to nosh on something sophisticated. Great for fooling kiddos into eating their veggies.
2 beets
1 sweet potato
1 green plantain
canola oil
sea salt
natural raw sugar
cinnamon
1. No need to peel veggies. Just trim off the ends or any strange bit and wash well. Using a mandoline or a steady hand to cut into 1/8 inch thick slices.
2. Fill a large pot about halfway full of oil. Use a thermometer and heat to 350°. Add about 8 slices of veg to the oil per batch, because you don’t want to bring down the temperature. Cook until golden brown and firmly textured. I like to plunge the chips down if the middles pop up too much. Use a spider utensil or slotted spoon. Beets take about 4-5 minutes. Sweet potatoes take about 2 minutes. Plantains take about 1 minute.
3. Place chips on cooling rack placed on top of a cookie sheet. This allows oil to drain without killing a tree for excessive use of paper towels. Immediately sprinkle with sea salt. For the sweet potatoes, sprinkle with raw sugar too. For the plantains, add a fine dusting of cinnamon.
4. Best if gobbled right away. If you must store them, wait until they have cooled completely and store in an air-tight container.
Basmati Beet Rice
This is a simple dish, basically incorporating beet juice into a basic rice recipe. It’s excellent for sneaking nutrition into your diet and also making an everyday grain burst with color and flavor. It’s lovely beside a white fish like tilapia and some sauteed greens.
1 part fresh beet juice (juice your own or get some from a juice bar)
1 part basmati rice
1 part filtered water or vegetable stock
1 T olive oil
1 t sea salt
1 or 2 bay leaves
1. Rinse rice well, until water runs through it clear.
2. Add all ingredients to a rice cooker, adjusting the seasoning depending on the quantity of rice. Follow appliance’s directions.
3. If you don’t have a rice cooker, bring all the ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cover pan, reduce heat to simmer. In about 20 minutes it will be done. Fluff gently with a fork and enjoy.
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