Recipe: Beets

Golden Beets. Photo by V. Rhoades.

By Victoria Rhoades, ND

Beets are easy and amazingly nutritious - rich in fiber, folate, manganese, and more. And they are easy! 


Buy beets at the store - I bought mine at Central Market. They look kinda ugly. Trim off the top and the bottom and don't worry about trimming off the hairy looking rootlets. 


Quarter them, and steam them for about 45 minutes or till a fork pierces the skin easily. Take them off the heat and let them cool enough to easily handle them.

Which is then the fun part! Those ugly skins just rub off under your fingertips. You might need to trim a little bit off the tops, where the skin sticks more, but what is underneath is then a gorgeous ruby red - or golden yellow, if you used yellow beets, like I did in the photo. 


What is left can then be sliced or diced in whatever way you want, or pureed with liquids to make a soup.

With my latest batch, I diced them (about 1/2 inch cubes), and then I dressed them. For dressing, put the following into a blender:

• juice of one lemon
• an equal part olive oil
• a sprig of mint
• a clove of garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Puree till smooth; pour over diced beets. Chill. You can put this on greens with additional dressing, or use it as a side dish, just eat it by itself with a bit of feta cheese sprinkled on top. This recipe has the Husband Seal of Approval.