Beautiful Beets

Beets are one of my favorite vegetables. They can be found and used year round, but fresh beets in summer are truly special, and the greens can be sauteed as a side like you would spinach. I made a salad using both red and chioggia beets. There are few food sights as the pink and white striations on the chioggia beets!

Beets can be eaten raw, roasted or braised. Sliced thinly they are delicious raw. I've played around with braising and roasting beets as well, most recently roasting beets nestled in the coals of a grill while cooking lamb chops.

Here are a few ways to prepare this delicious and beautiful veggie!

RAW BEETS
- Peel outer layer
- Slice thinly and enjoy

ROASTED BEETS IN THE OVEN
- Preheat the oven to 375
- Wrap beets in tin foil
- Roast for 30-45 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a knife
- When cool enough to handle, use a paper towel and rub off the outer layer

ROASTED BEETS ON THE GRILL
- Wrap beets in tin foil
- While the coals are hot and being used to cook something, nestle the tin foil packets in the coals
- Roast for 30-45 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a knife. Cooking times might be longer depending on the heat of the coals, it's an experiment in process!

SAUTEED BEETS GREENS
- Rinse greens and discard tough ends of stems
- Heat olive oil in a pan
- Add a couple of cloves of minced garlic
- Add greens to pan and saute until wilted
- Season with salt and pepper and a splash of lemon if desired.