My new love affair with beets!

Yes, beets! Last night I roasted up some gorgeous deep red- purple colored beauties for the first time. Their color has inspired me to go on a nail polish hunt this weekend for the perfect beet hue. I received beet greens (yes, just the top green part) in my CSA box this week. I decided to go ahead and buy the actual beets to roast and then wilt the greens of both bunches. Divine! Here is what I did!

Roasted Beets
Scrub the beets well. If you want to peel them, do so after they have been cooked. It will be much easier. You can served them sliced and straight up or, you can dice them up like I did and incorporate them into the greens dish below.

-one bunch of beets, scrubbed clean
-about a tablespoon or less of olive oil
-salt and pepper
-butter (optional but delicious)
Preheat your oven to 375. Put beets in a small baking dish. Do you have any other root veggies to use up? Perhaps some potatoes or carrots? Throw them in, too. (I cut some large potatoes into eighths and thew them into the dish. Why not?) Cook for about one hour, checking at 45 minutes. They are done when a knife easily slides through the beet. When they come out, salt and pepper them to taste. I diced up my beets and finished them with a hefty tablespoon of butter. Heavenly!

Wilted Beet Greens
These guys wilt down like spinach so the more, the merrier. I used 2 bunches and it was enough for 2 people (one of which isn't a big greens eater). You will want to discard the tough stems.

-2 bunches of greens, washed and dried well, torn into smaller pieces
-a teaspoon or so of olive oil
-1 clove of garlic, minced
-one half teaspoon of red wine vinegar (optional)
-salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil and add garlic, cooking about 2 minutes until garlic becomes fragrant. Add greens to pan and wilt. Add the vinegar towards the end and let it cook out for a moment or two. It will add a nice tang!

Now if you like, throw the greens on a dish and serve the diced beets over the greens. YUM! Cheap and easy peasy. Unfortunately I was too focused on eating the experiment to remember to capture the moment on film but, it made a very pretty and rustic-looking presentation with the dark purple of the beets resting on top of the lovely, vibrant greens. I am looking forward to the leftovers today for lunch. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

XO -Jenn