I got these from the Farmer’s Market this weekend:
Beets!
I’ve never made beets before, though I remember eating them out of a can when I was younger. I’m not sure what spurred this purchase, but I decided to try them out tonight. My How To Cook Everything cookbook recommended baking them for an hour, then slicing or even whatnot for serving. As recommended, I cut the beets off with about one inch of stem left and wrapped them in foil. They needed about an hour in the oven to be soft enough to cut easily. I was surprised to see how easy the tops and skin came off after cooking. Though I knew beets possess a bright red juice, I was a bit amazed at how easily it seemed to get all over the kitchen when I started handling them. Thankfully nothing in the kitchen seems to be stained.
I also decided to use the beet greens. After a good couple washings, I took the leaves off the stems and steamed them above the pasta water. Then I sauteed them in olive oil along with lots of garlic and tomatoes. All of this went with the pasta as a sort of sauce. After the beets had cooked, I sliced them up and cooked them in a little butter, sliced onion and garlic. I neglected to get a good pictures of the beets when they were done, but I did get the pasta:
Yummy pasta with olive oil, garlic, tomatoes and beet greens.
All this turned out really well, if I do say so myself. It was a very nutritionally virtuous meal, which is half the fun. I’m glad to be able to add this vegetable to my repertoire though.
