Warm Beet and Chard Salad

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 6 medium beets (any kind)
• ½ red onion, sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic and/or some garlic scapes if you still have some
• 1 bunch of swiss chard
• 1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
• 1.5 tablespoons of quality olive oil
• goat cheese

Instructions

1. Roast the beets: Wrap beets in foil two and two together, place on a baking sheet in the middle of the oven and roast at 375 degrees for about one hour. Take the beets out of the oven to cool in the foil for a while. (Keeping them in the foil will help loosen the skin.) When cold enough to handle, remove the skin and slice beets in big pieces. Keep aside in a bowl.
2. Sauté the onion and garlic on medium heat for about five minutes. Add roughly chopped chard, stems removed, and cook until the chard is done (5-10 minutes). Add the garbanzo beans and beets and heat for a few minutes.
3. Add in the goat cheese and serve.
4. Salt and pepper as needed

from the Roots Down Community Farm newsletter

Roasted Beets with Caramelized Onions and Feta

1 pound beets

1 tablespoon oil

1 pound onions (sliced)

1/2 cup feta (crumbled)

1 tablespoon grainy mustard

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Wrap the beets in aluminum foil.

2. Bake the beets in a preheated 375F oven until soft, about 1 to 1.5 hours.

Adapted from closetcooking.com  (makes 4 servings)

Chard with Beet Vinegar

2 large beets, peeled and cooked
1 cup rice vinegar
3 Tbs. sugar
½ tsp. lemon juice
dash white pepper
1 large bunch fresh chard or beet greens, chopped
butter to taste
Garnish: sour cream or fresh plain yogurt

In a blender, puree the beets together with the rice vinegar, sugar, lemon juice and white pepper.  Pour into a non-aluminum saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 5 minutes.  Cool.  Steam the chard until tender, drain.  Toss chard with butter and pepper to taste.  Arrange the cooked chard on a serving platter.  Spoon over some of the beet vinegar to taste and garnish with a generous dollop of sour cream or yogurt.

(From Recipes from a Kitchen Garden by Shepherd and Raboff)

Gravenstein Apple & Beet Salad with Curry Vinaigrette

This recipe makes a lot; halve the ingredients for 2-3 servings. Remove ribs from chard and chop into small pieces to substitute for spinach. Any kind of apple works fine. This is a delicious dish, first made for the farm crew by CSA member Ponda - thank you!

6 lbs             beets
4                  Gravenstein apples, peeled & sliced
1 qt.             spinach

                    Curry Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Cook, peel, and slice the beets.  Toss dressing with beets and apples.  Add spinach just before serving.

Curry Vinaigrette
2 Tbsp           curry powder
1 cup            apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup           sugar
1 Tbsp           black pepper
1/4 cup           canola or olive oil
Whisk ingredients together.  Set aside. 

from Chris Maritzen of Whole Foods Market
Serves 4-6 

 

Roasted Beet Salad

Ingredients:

About 6 medium beets
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbs. squeezed orange juice (blood oranges, if available)
2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs. fresh tarragon or 2 tsp. dried tarragon
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

To bake beets: Trim, leaving 2 inches of tops and tails. Wrap 2-3 beets in aluminum foil and set the packages on a baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let the packages cool, then refrigerate until ready to finish the dish. (Or bake beets using your preferred method.)

When ready, trim a a thin slice from both  top and bottom of the beets. Skin will slip off. Slice or chunk beets.

Combine remaining ingredients. Whisk and add to beets. Serve at room temperature. makes enough to serve four, depending on the meal.

Per serving: 125 calories; 7g fat (1g saturated; 50 percent calories from fat); 14g carbohydrates; 0 mg cholesterol; 166 mg sodium; 2g protein; 3g fiber

This recipe appeared in the Oct. 18 issue of the Detroit News. The recipe was from Marlene Parrish, who believes a few roasted beets in the veggie drawer come in handy. They keep for several weeks, wrapped in foil. Then any time you need an extra dish, turn the beets into Harvard or pickled beets, add slices to salad, or make this herby side dish.

Honeyed Beet Quinoa Summer Salad

(With variations from Fresh from the Farm and Garden by The Friends of the UCSC Farm and Garden)

This recipe is reproduced from the newsletter of Mariquita Farm, a large CSA located in Watsonville CA. Lots of good info and recipes in their newsletter - some recipes by "Chef Jonathan" and some by Julia, who, with her husband Andy, owns the farm.

Julia’s note: I make many variations of this salad, with whatever vegetables/alliums/dressing I have on hand. I love using quinoa, but brown rice and couscous also work nicely. Likely other grains too. For this much salad I usually use half the amount of cheese they recommend and half the amount of nuts. Any mixture of the below herbs work well: just parsley, just cilantro, just basil, or any combo... chives, tarragon for a different flavor..... the possibilities are endless and having a salad like this on hand makes healthy lunches/dinners much easier.

6 beets, roasted (or three large)
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 cups orange juice
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup fruity olive oil
3 cups cooked quinoa, or another grain such as brown rice or couscous or??
1 cup crumbled feta cheese, or shredded parmesan, or??, optional
1 cup toasted walnuts or almonds, roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped basil OR cilantro
1/2 cup chopped parsley
6 minced green onions or 3 shallots or other mild allium
lettuce greens, ready for eating as salad

Dice roasted beets and marinate in orange and lemon juice and honey at least one hour. (Julia’s note: I warm up my honey a bit before mixing it in the juices/oil... but don’t make it too hot or it will ‘cook’ the juice and fruity oil!) Combine with other ingredients except salad greens. Chill at least one hour to allow flavors to blend. Serve on bed of salad greens.

Purslane and Young Beets

3 medium young beets, baked in a clay pot or boiled,
and peeled
Large pinch of ground cloves
Coarse sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste
Strained juice of 1 large lemon
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, or to taste
3 cups purslane sprigs
2 scallions, white parts only, thinly sliced

 

Cut the beets into a julienne (large matchsticks). Place in a non-reactive bowl, sprinkle with the cloves, salt and pepper, and half the lemon juice and olive oil. Gently toss together, taking care not to break the beets. Cover and set aside for 1 hour or refrigerate for up to 4 hours. Thoroughly rinse the purslane and remove the small fleshy leaves in clusters. Combine the beets, purslane and remaining lemon juice and olive oil in a salad bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle with the scallions and serve immediately.

 

(serves 4)

 

Mixed Veggie Focaccia

This recipe is inspired by our friends and market-neighbors Mill Pond Bread, and the focaccia recipe comes from intern Tacy’s dad. At the end of a market day, Mill Pond often goes home with a box of produce – yummy greens, miscellaneous root veggies, and everything in between. They have gotten really good at turning our veggies into something delicious and unique, and so we thought we’d share their secrets with you! The dough is a bit finicky, but the filling is quite forgiving. Throw in any veggies you can think of, and we’ll help explain how to prepare them best so that your focaccia comes out perfect!

For the focaccia:

1 oz. dry yeast

1 tbsp. sugar

1½ c. water

4 c. all-purpose flour

1 tbsp. salt

½ tsp. white pepper

1 tsp. dried rosemary (or leaves of one rosemary branch)

¼ c. olive oil

½ c. finely chopped onions

For the filling:

3-4 c. finely chopped vegetables (tomatoes, broccoli, turnips, radishes, potatoes, kale, Asian greens, onions, arugula…)

4-6 cloves of garlic, sliced thin

¼ c. olive oil

salt to taste

¼ c. finely chopped basil

1/3 c. shredded cheese (optional)

For the dough:

1) Warm ½ cup of the water to about 110˚. Dissolve the yeast and the sugar into it for 15 minutes.

2) Measure out the flour, salt, pepper, and rosemary into a large bowl. Mix and gradually add the watered yeast and the remaining water (at room temperature) until it is all incorporated. Add ½ tablespoon of the olive oil. Knead for at least 10 minutes.

3) Pour a bit of olive oil in the bottom of a large bowl. Gather up the dough into a large bowl, rolling it around a bit. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in a warm place until it has doubled in size.

4) Punch the dough down with your fist, add half of the onions, and knead for a few minutes. Re-cover with the plastic wrap and let rise a second time. The first rising will take a few hours, the second rising will take about 45 minutes.

5) When the dough has risen, rub a bit of oil on a cookie sheet and spread the dough into a large oval an inch thick with your hands. Drizzle olive oil onto the top of the dough and set aside for 15 minutes.

For the filling:

1) Roast any root veggies (turnips, potatoes, radishes…) with some of the olive oil, salt, and garlic at 400˚ for 30-40 minutes. If using tomatoes, sprinkle them with plenty of salt in order to help pull the juices out and roast them with the other root veggies.

2) Massage any tender greens (kale, Asian greens, arugula) with some more olive oil, salt, and garlic slices. The best way to do this is to chop the greens into manageable pieces, then use your fingers to break down the greens until they have a vibrant green appearance. This will keep the greens from getting too crispy and flaky once they go into the oven. If you happen to be using collards, they are tougher and therefore require a quick steaming (about 5 to 7 minutes).

3) Chop any veggies that cook relatively quickly (broccoli, additional onions), but don’t cook them quite yet. They will cook plenty inside of the focaccia.

Assembling the focaccia:

1) Arrange your toppings evenly over the surface of the dough. If adding cheese, sprinkle it on top.

2) Place pan on the bottom rack of a preheated 375˚ oven and bake for 30 minutes. Change pan to the top rack for 15 more minutes. Sprinkle the top with salt and basil, and place on a rack to cool. Enjoy!

Adapted from Tacy’s Dad’s focaccia recipe and Mill Pond’s veggie techniques.

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Kale and Beets

• 3 beets - thinly sliced
  
• 1 bunches kale, tough ribs removed and leaves roughly torn
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice from 1 lemon
• 3 ounces fresh goat cheese

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Spread beets, kale, and garlic on rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Roast until the beets are soft and the kale is tender, 20-30 minutes

2. Meanwhile, cook quinoa. For excellent directions, learn about all things quinoa at this informative blog.

3. 
   When quinoa is cooked and fluffed, add roasted vegetables and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and lemon juice and divide amongst bowls. Crumble goat cheese and serve hot or warm.

adapted from Blake Royer's Serious Eats blog

Think Inside the Box

Here's a great way to use up some of the veggies in that share box! Inspired by Evan Dayringer, who says: when you start with good ingredients you're very likely to end up with good food!

Possible ingredients:

scallions or onions
tofu with seasonings
beets w/ greens
kale or collards

The method:

Start with a deep cast iron frying pan.

Chop scallions and saute over medium low heat in a generous amount of good olive oil.

Slice tofu into strips and dip in soy sauce. Then dredge in a mixture of nutritional yeast, cayenne pepper, ground black pepper, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, salt. Add to scallions.

Slice or chop beets thinly; chop greens as well. Add to pan as next layer.

Chop 1-2 bunches kale or collards. Add to pan as top layer.

Pour soy sauce and apple cider vinegar over veggies (to taste).

Cover and let steam for 5-10 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit.

Other veggies may be included - experiment!

Salad with Beets, Walnuts, Goat Cheese, and Balsamic Reduction

The sweetness of the beets contrasts with the tart tanginess of the goat cheese. A beautiful and delicious dish! (from the excellent eggsonsunday food blog)

Ingredients (for 2 main-course salads)

For the salad:
2 medium-large (2 1/2 in. diameter) cooked beets, cubed or cut into wedges
1 bunch greens, torn into bite-sized pieces (I use a small bunch of kale, but you could use any kind of salad greens you like; just use enough for two servings)
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 of a 4-oz. log of goat cheese, crumbled (roughly 4 tbsp)

For the dressing:
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp honey
pinch each of salt and pepper

For the balsamic reduction:
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Directions

To cook the beets:
Two options - baking or roasting.

To bake the beets, cut off the greens (if they’re attached) and leave about an inch of stem above the beet. Place the whole beets, skin still on, in an 8×8 baking pan. Fill with water just so it covers the whole bottom of the pan, then cover the pan tightly with foil. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the beets are tender when pierced with a fork (you kind of just have to check; it will take more or less time depending on the size of your beets.) Once the beets come out of the oven, let them sit with the foil still covering the pan for about 15 minutes. Then, remove the foil and peel the beets – the skins should be so loose that you can just slip them easily off. Be prepared for your hands to get really, really bright pink – it washes off afterwards! Cut up the peeled beets into 1/2 inch cubes.

Or, to roast the beets, cut off the greens and peel the skins off the beets with a vegetable peeler. No need to peel young beets. Cut the raw peeled(or unpeeled) beets into 1/2 inch chunks, toss with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and place them on a baking sheet. Roast for about 20-30 minutes, until the beet chunks are tender.

To assemble the salad:
First, get the balsamic reduction going. Place 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil until the vinegar has reduced to a syrupy consistency, about 5 minutes (should yield about 1 tbsp.) Turn off heat and set aside until your salads are ready.

In the bottom of a large bowl, make the dressing by whisk together 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp honey, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Add washed (and spun dry) greens of your choice directly to the bowl (on top of the vinaigrette). Using a large spoon, toss the greens with the vinaigrette. Divide the dressed greens among two plates.

Now, top your greens with the beets, crumbled goat cheese, and walnuts.

Finally, drizzle your balsamic reduction over the tops of the salads.

Sunshine Beets

2-3 Tbs. olive oil
3 medium beets with their greens
2 medium carrots
2 cloves garlic
3/4 - 1 c. orange juice
 salt, pepper to taste

optional (but good!) - 1/2 lb. tofu, cut into bite-sized pieces

Separate beet greens - wash, chop (include stems) and set aside. Roast or boil beets until tender. Transfer beets to cold water until they cool enough for handling, then remove skins. Chop beets and set aside. 

Chop carrots in similar size pieces and steam until just tender; set aside. 

Dice garlic and saute gently for two minutes. 

Add greens and orange juice; simmer until greens are tender (not long).

Add beets and carrots, (and tofu if using), stirring until everything is evenly heated and flavors have blended. Season to taste.

If you haven't cooked beets with orange juice yet, do give it a try. Almost guaranteed to convert a non-beet eater!

Double Chocolate Beet Muffins

1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. bittersweet chocolate chips
1/4 c. butter
2/3 c. bittersweet chocolate chips
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 c. beet puree*
2/3 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
*To make beet puree: Remove greens from beets and boil for 35-40 minutes. When cool, the skins should slip right off. Puree beets, adding a little bit of the cooking water, until they reach the consistency of applesauce.
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line it with paper cups; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together first 5 ingredients until well combined. Stir in the half cup chocolate chips; set aside.
4. In a small saucepan, melt the other 2/3 cup chocolate chips and butter over very low heat. Stir to combine and set aside to cool until lukewarm.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, brown sugar, beet puree, buttermilk, vanilla and melted chocolate.
6. Pour the chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until just combined.
Immediately spoon batter into 12 well-greased or paper-lined muffin cups. Batter should completely fill the cups.
Place muffin pan in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes.
Cool muffins for 10 minutes in pan then remove them to a wire rack to cool

Arugula Salad with Beets and Goat Cheese Recipe

Beets - (boiled until a fork easily goes in it, about an hour), peeled, sliced into strips

Fresh arugula - rinsed, patted dry with a paper towel

Goat cheese - chevre

Walnuts - chopped

Dressing ingredients:
Olive oil
Lemon
Dry powdered mustard
Sugar
Salt and pepper

Method

The amount of ingredients depends on how many people you are serving and how much salad you intend to serve them. The important thing is that this is a good blend of flavors. Each plate was composed individually.

The dressing for three individual salads was 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1/2 lemon, 1/4 teaspoon of powdered mustard, 3/4 teaspoon of sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Actually, it is all to taste. These are only approximate measurements.

Assemble the salad according to how much you want. A handful of arugula leaves, a few beet juliennes, some crumbled goat cheese, garnish with chopped walnuts. Use a vinaigrette salad dressing or the one provided with this recipe.

Borscht Recipe

8 cups veggie broth

1 large onion, peeled, quartered, or one-half bunch scallions, chopped

• 3 beets, peeled, chopped
• 4 carrots, peeled, chopped
• 1 large russet potato, or several small ones, peeled, 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 cups thinly sliced cabbage
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh dill
• 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 cup sour cream
• Salt and pepper to taste

Bring broth, vegetables and dill to boil and simmer until done, around thirty minutes. Remove pot from stove and stir in vinegar. Ladle soup into bowls. Top with sour cream and remaining 1/4 cup dill. Serves 6.

Roasted Beet Salad

1 bunch beets - trimmed and washed (save the greens to cook later)
2 Tbs. olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 cups mixed greens (salad mix or lettuce and chard)
3 Tbs. balsamic vinaigrette
Feta cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss together beets, olive oil and garlic in baking dish. Bake 40 minutes, or until beets are tender. Cool.
Remove skin from beets and slice into rounds.
Toss greens with vinaigrette; add beets and sprinkle it with feta, if you like.

Chlodnik!

This cold beet soup is the perfect refreshment for a hot summer day. There are many versions, but here is an delicious representative from the excellent blog: Four Obsessions: Reading, Writing, Cooking and Crafting

3 C chilled buttermilk
1/2 C Sour Cream (optional, or substitute yogurt)
1 t salt
1 smallish garlic clove, finely pressed or minced
1 C chopped seedless cucumber (or take a regular cucumber and cut out the seeds before you dice it)
1/2 C chopped radishes
1/2 C chopped walnuts
2 T chopped fresh dill
ground black pepper
1 C diced beets ( freshly roasted or boiled beets; you could use canned ones or pickled ones if you prefer.)

Whisk together all ingredients except beets and chill. Top each serving of soup with beets. Really good!

Beet Caviar

1 bunch beets, boil or roast, then cool and remove skins
½ c. walnuts: grind in blender or food processor(you may toast first but not necessary)
2-4 cloves of minced or pressed garlic, your call
Grate beets and mix everything together with one-quarter to one-third cup mayonnaise.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve as a dip or spread with some good crackers. Incredibly tasty!