“And what in the world are you going to do with THOSE?” the older woman was referring to the large bunch of fresh-from-someone’s-garden-this-morning beets I held up at our local Saturday morning farmer’s market.
I assured her that the family would LOVE them for dinner tomorrow night. “Well,” she muttered doubtfully, “If you’re sure…..” She was clearly not sure of any such thing herself.
It turns out that she has never had fresh beets in her LIFE. I am constantly running into people who have never eaten fresh beets and they are all missing out on a treat. I have my mom to thank for my own enthusiasm about beets.
Fixing fresh beets is very simple. First you cut off the tops and boil the beets just about to death. Beets take a long time to cook and you need to watch them to be sure they don’t boil dry and burn. Large beets can take as much as a full hour to cook. They’re done when you can stick a fork in them easily. They won’t be quite as soft as boiled potatoes would be but close.
After they’ve been boiled, the outer skin just slides off of the beets. They are still full of red color, so be careful not to splash them on your clothes. Once you’ve removed the outer skins, cut the beets into 1 inch cubes and return to the pan. Barely heat them through. Toss them with butter, salt, and coarsely ground pepper and serve.
My kids have grown up eating fresh beets and LOVE them. They especially love them because if they eat enough of them, they pee pink. For boys, this is a really special and exciting treat.
The taste of fresh beets is one of the tastes of summer for me.
bk
13 Comments
July 29, 2006 at 4:00 am
MMMMMMMMM, I love fresh beets. Beet pickles are pretty good too!
September 12, 2006 at 1:15 pm
[...] I served the chicken and rice with fresh beets and homemade bread. [...]
September 18, 2006 at 12:02 am
[...] I started with a small tupperware container of leftover fresh beets. I put them in the food processor and pureed them as thoroughly as I was able. I ended up with about 1 2/3 c. beet puree. I poured 1/2 c. warm milk into the processor and whirled those beets a little more. [...]
June 30, 2008 at 9:01 pm
[...] Beets Revisited Jump to Comments As we’ve discussed in the past, fresh beets are an oft-maligned vegetable. Far too many people think of the little slivers of [...]
August 3, 2008 at 10:30 pm
I get to pee pink?? Sold. Having some tonight. They’re on the stove now.
August 3, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Well, they were darn tasty. Preparing these things can make your kitchen look like the scene of a brutal murder if you’re not careful….and I’m apparently not careful.
April 4, 2009 at 2:17 pm
I just cooked fresh beets for my husband. I came to your site to figure out how to cook them. I tried them boiled with butter and s&p as suggested and I Love beets!!! My dear mother would be so pleased if she were still with us! She loved beets in vinegar with a bit of sugar; also the way my hubby cooked them for himself last time. I got brave and steamed the greens too. I loved them also! They were like spinach with a little additude! Thank You so much for sharing your wisdom and educating us!
June 3, 2009 at 1:32 pm
I just picked a few beets out of my garden the other day and I cooked them up just for me. Hubby would not touch them or even try them – his loss and my gain! I steamed the greens too and I love them with a little butter, salt and a splash of apple cider vinegar! It brought back so many good memories in vermont as a kid.
June 13, 2009 at 7:43 pm
about ten years ago, I noticed that my pee was kind of red. When it happened twice, I figured I was bleeding internally – maybe bladder cancer or something. It took me a while to figure out that I had bought a rare bunch of fresh beets earlier in the week. Scary.
September 5, 2009 at 10:04 am
Love beets like this. Another great way is to roast them in the oven – put unpeeled beets in some tinfoil with garlic, thyme, olive oil. Roast until tender. When they have cooled; the skins slide right off. So good.
October 1, 2009 at 1:27 am
Heather, I just bought fresh beets today and was at a loss of how to cook them. I like your suggestion of roasting them…would you please let me know how long and at what temperature they should be roasted.
So looking forward to having them. Thanks!
October 1, 2009 at 9:24 am
Deb, if you cut them into 1 inch cubes, you should be able to roast them at 400 for about 45 minutes. Depending on whether your oven has hot spots, you might be able to get by with less time.
Barb
November 3, 2009 at 5:13 pm
I use a pressure cooker for my fresh beets – 20-30 mins depending on the size of the beets. The rest of the prep is the same. Quicker to yummy beets! And maybe preserving some of the vitamins by not boiling in water so long.