Flowfit

Don’t be turned off by their narly appearance on the outside.  Inside, heirloom beets are gorgeous colourful gems!  Don’t be afraid to try cooking them or eating them raw.  Most people have experienced canned or pickled beets, but few people have tried fresh beets.  Of course nutritionally fresh raw beets will always be superior to canned or even fresh cooked beets, but lets start your first fresh beet experience off with some sweet roasted beets. Speaking of beet nutrition, beets are high in folic acid (great for pregnant women), potassium, calcium and antioxidants.

Now the “beets” we are talking about so far are the beet roots, the portion that grows below the ground.  The above ground part, the leafy beet greens are also very nutritious and can be used for juicing, or cooking as you would any other green. The beet tops are actually more nutritious than the roots. They contain significantly more iron, vitamin A, potassium and calcium.

Beets are in season and are so delicious!  Buy beets with the greens still attached and fresh looking.

Roasted Beet Roots:

• Beets – washed and tops and bottom root cut off – leave skin on
• extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper
• white wine vinegar
• fresh herbs of choice
• heavy duty aluminum foil

Heat grill or oven to 400 degrees.  To prepare beets, wash and cut off greens and root.  Leave skins on for roasting – you’ll remove after cooking.  Place whole beets on foil, drizzle with olive oil and s&p.  Tightly wrap foil so no steam escapes.  Use indirect heat on BBQ (place package on off portion of grill).  Roast for 30-40 minutes depending on size of beets.

Remove package from grill and let sit for 15 minutes to continue cooking.  When beets have cooled enough to touch, remove skins by pinching  or gently peeling off. Slice into wedges, rounds or cubes.  Place in dish and drizzle with olive oil and vinegar and a bit more s&p.  Eat at room temperature.

YUM!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 14th, 2010 at 5:04 pm and is filed under RECIPES, Sides and Starters, Soups and Salads, Uncategorized, Vegetarian and Vegan Dishes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.