The Beet Goes On
by Carol Ann Kates

The beet is a descendant of the sea beet, a wild seashore plant that grows in southern Europe. As charred beet roots were found in the Neolithic site of Aartswoud in the Netherlands, historians believe our ancestors have been eating beets since prehistoric times.
 
We are accustomed to seeing the common beet in supermarkets. It is round with slightly flattened ends, a dusty red exterior, and deep red flesh. But at our farmers' market you can find other varieties. Baby beets are considered the most tender and possess a delicate flavor. The Italian chioggia beet, also called candy cane, is bright red on the outside but on the inside has red and white concentric stripes. Golden beets are more orange than gold and tend to be sweeter than red beets. White beets are sweet with a less earthy taste than the deeper colored varieties. And, of course, you will find rainbow beets, whose multitude of colors make an interesting and unusual presentation. One of the advantages of purchasing golden or white beets is that they will not bleed like beets with deep red flesh.
 
When you buy beets with the greens attached, you are actually getting two veggies for the price of one. Beetroots can be simmered in stews, roasted, steamed, boiled or braised.  They can also be used uncooked and shredded for salads or squeezed into juice. Beet greens have a wonderful earthy flavor. If the greens are small, add them to salads. Larger greens should be sautéed or cooked like any other hearty green.
 
I just started cooking with golden beets. I found them sweet and delicious, and they didn't leave any messy red stains. Following is a recipe for a salad with golden beets and roasted asparagus. My family loved this one.
  
Roasted Golden Beets and Asparagus
over a Bed of Greens
Serves 6
 
I made a dressing for this salad using my vanilla-fig balsamic vinegar. It was heavenly. I've included this recipe. I've also inserted a recipe using plain balsamic in case you don't have this flavor.
 
For a balsamic vinegar dressing:
 
            3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
            1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
            1 teaspoon minced garlic
            ½ teaspoon salt
            ½ teaspoon large grind black pepper
            3 tablespoons olive oil
 
 
In a small bowl, combine balsamic vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper.  Whisk to blend. While continuing to whisk, slowly add olive oil. Set aside. 
 
For a vanilla-fig balsamic dressing:
 
            3 tablespoons Corner Market Secret Recipe Vanilla-fig Balsamic Vinegar
            3 tablespoons olive oil
 
In a small bowl, place balsamic vinegar. Slowly add olive oil, whisking to blend. Set aside.
 
For the beets:
 
            12 small golden beets
            3 tablespoons olive oil
            ½ teaspoon salt
            ½ teaspoon large grind black pepper
 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove greens and reserve for cooking later. Wash beets well, peeling off any bad spots and leaving skins on. In a medium baking dish, toss beets with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake beets at 350 degrees F for 45 to 55 minutes or until beets are tender when pierced with a knife. Remove from the oven, cool, and peel.
 
For the asparagus:
 
            ½ pound asparagus spears, tough ends snapped off and thick spears peeled
            Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
            Salt to taste
            Large grind black pepper to taste
 
Arrange spears in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. If spears vary in size, separate them into piles of thick and thin spears and keep them divided on the baking sheet. Thin spears will cook faster, and this makes it easy to remove them when they are cooked.
 
Drizzle with olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Roast until ends are tender when pierced with a knife, about 7 minutes for thin spears and 10 minutes for thick ones. Transfer to a cutting board and cool.
 
For the salad: 
 
            12 small golden beets, roasted, peeled, and cut in quarters
            ½ pound asparagus, roasted and cut into 2-inch pieces       
            ½ cup scallions, thinly sliced
            ¾ cup crumbled feta cheese
            6 cups Spring mix or your favorite greens
 
Using 6 salad plates, cover plates with greens. Top greens with golden beets, asparagus, scallions, and feta cheese. Drizzle with dressing and serve immediately. 
 
Selecting beets: Choose small, firm beets with bright green leaves that show no signs of wilting. The taproot should still be attached. Avoid large beets that have a hairy taproot.  This is an indication of age and toughness. If beets are larger than 1½ to 2 inches in diameter, they will likely have a tough, woody center. Smaller beets are more tender and sweeter.  Pass up beets that have scales or spots. To ensure even cooking, select beets that are uniform in size. 
 
Storing beets: Upon arriving home, trim the leaves 2 inches from the root. The leaves will suck moisture from the beets. Do not trim the tail. If you like, you can store the leaves in a separate plastic bag in the vegetable crisper of your refrigerator. Use these leaves within 2 days. When placed in plastic bags and stored in the crisper of your refrigerator, beetroot bulbs will keep up to 3 weeks if dry.   
 
Washing and cooking:  Wash beets gently as their skin is fragile.  If the skin is not broken during the washing process or removed for cooking, beets will retain more nutrition and color. The skin of beets will easily rub off under cold running water or when rubbed gently with a paper towel. Leave at least an inch of the leaf stem when you cook beets. Remove the leaf stem before serving. 
 
Carol Ann Kates is the author of award-winning Secret Recipes from the Corner Market selected as one of the top ten favorite cookbooks by the Denver Post Food Staff.
For more information visit       www.cornermarketsecrets.com. 

• According to John Heinerman Ph.D. in Encyclopedia on Healing Juices, beets (& beet juice) are blood-building herb that detoxifies blood & renews it with minerals & natural sugars. This encyclopedia goes on to note that there may be substances in beets that aid circulation.
• Dr. H.C.A. Vogel, in The Nature Doctor, states that beet juice contains betaine, which stimulates function of liver cells & protects our liver & bile ducts.
• Norman Walker, D.Sc. in Fresh Vegetables and Fruit Juices, claims that beets build red corpuscles & add tone to blood.
• An article in February 25,1996, issue of Cancer Letters report on an animal study that shows that beetroot has a significant tumor-inhibiting effect. The abstract for the study says, "The combined findings suggest that beet root ingestion can be one of the useful means to prevent cancer."