Beets, Bears, Battlestar Galactica

I love beets because my mom used to make them all the time when we were little. We still kid her about the time she almost burned the house down when we were in high school and she left the stove on cooking beets while we went out for dinner. When we came back, the water had evaporated, the beets were lumps of ashes in the pot, and the house smelled like shit. Anyways, here is the recipe I used to make the lovely beet salad I made for lunch today.

Ingredients:

* 3 or 4 fresh beets
* 1 small onion
* Extra virgin olive oil
* Wine vinegar
* Fresh lemon juice
* Salt and black pepper

Preparation:

1. Slice greens from one bunch of 3 or 4 beets (I make another salad with the greens.), or use trimmed beets. Scrub beets well with a vegetable brush and water, but don’t peel.
2. Put in a pot with plenty of water, bring to a boil, and simmer 30 to 45 minutes, or until just easily pierced with a fork or knife tip. Drain (if you save some of the bright red water, it adds great flavor to soups.)
3. Meanwhile, finely dice one small yellow, white or red onion. Make a dressing of ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 T (tablespoons) red wine vinegar (cider vinegar will do if necessary), 2 T lemon juice (at least partly fresh), ½ t (teaspoon) kosher or other salt, and a few grinds of black pepper.
4. Let beets cool enough to handle gingerly—they must still be warm when you dress them. Wear rubber gloves if you don’t want dyed hands. The skins will come off easily. Cut off the ends and slice thinly (for ease, cut in half and then slice flat side down).
5. Put beets, diced onions and dressing in a pretty bowl. Refrigerate, but take out a little early so it won’t be icy cold. Taste and correct for salt.

From Foodsqueeze or something… don’t burn your house down.

August 27, 2008. Tags: beet root, beet salad, beets, recipe. Becko, FYI. Leave a comment.