Serves ?
We went to our local farmer's market to see what fresh veggies were available. I bought some baby beets (about 1 inch in diameter) and small carrots (1/2inch in diameter, 4 inches long).
I washed the veggies, peeled the beets and cut off all the greens, reserving the beet greens. (The carrots had such a soft skin that I didn't feel they needed to be peeled.) I steamed the carrots in the microwave for 1 minute, and the beets for 4 minutes. Then I place them in separate Ziploc bags. To each bag I added 1 tablespoon olive oil and some spices and herbs. (The carrots got dehydrated onion and garlic flakes, the beets just some fresh cracked black pepper.)
I let them rest for about a half hour and then I got my grill hot. I laid everything on the grill and turned them every few minutes. They took about 15 minutes to cook. I brought them off the grill and let them rest, covered.
I put a non-stick grill on medium high heat and added 1 tablespoon olive oil. When it was hot, I put the washed beet greens in the pan with a little pepper. I sauteed them until the greens began to wilt and removed them to the plate. (The meat was some pulled pork from last Friday.)
I added a few splashes of flavored vinegar. I made blueberry-lemon on a white wine vinegar base, and blackberry-basil on a red wine vinegar base. The blueberry-lemon was excellent on the beets, and the blackberry-basil really complemented the pork.
I'm not going to give any nutritional data for this meal, because whatever you make will depend on what you can find.
The recipe for the vinegars are simple:
1 cup vinegar (your choice of types, just not white distilled)
1 pint berries, mashed
The zest of a lemon--OR--four fresh basil leaves, torn.
Mix the vinegar, berries and other flavor together in a lidded jar. Shake well and place in the refrigerator for 4-7 days. (Shake once a day.)
When you are ready to use it, strain the juice through a double layer of cheesecloth. Store in the fridge. I'm not sure how long it will last, but in the fridge, I'm guessing it will last quite a while. (Also, I specified a "double layer" of cheesecloth. For the first recipe, I accidentally used four layers, and it took forever to strain.)
These vinegars will have a few more calories than pure vinegar, but I can't calculate how much. I honestly don't think it will be enough to worry about.
Other flavor combinations that would taste good:
Mango-chipotle
Orange-cinnamon
Sweet cherry-lime
Raspberry-lemon
Cherry-vanilla
Hi Trevor, I have hated beets my whole life, I mean literally despised the look, the smell, everything. My hatred for beets really bothered me because it is honestly the ONLY thing I can say that I don't like. Every now and then I give them another shot. Yesterday at work, my co-worker brought in pickled beets (I LOVE Anything pickled/vinegar) so, I put my big girl pants on and took the serving size and placed it on a plate. I was proud that I took 4 slices and vowed to eat them all regardless of how I felt about them because I do not waste food. Guess what? I really like them!!! Bought my own jar today. I feel like they are very healthy, however, the 3rd ingredient is high fructose corn syrup..Not a fan of that. So now that you know I'm a loony toon, my question is..Do you have any other suggestions on how to eat or prepare beets???
ReplyDeleteGrilled is my favorite. You can try roasted (quarter, toss with olive oil, and put them in a 425F oven). I also have a recipe for a raw beet salad (I need to find that.) I haven't tried it, but you could probably slice them and pan fry them, or certainly shave thin and deepfry (beet chips.) Enjoy! Thanks for the comment, Rebecca!
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