Beet Season
There’s nothing like fresh, early summer beets. Choose beets with vibrant green tops that sweeten when sauteed with garlic and olive oil. And when beets are fresh, a simple presentation as best. I recommend roasting them.
Make a aluminum foil packet for your beets and some whole cloves of garlic, enclose it and roast them at 400 degrees for 45-90 minutes, depending on the beet size. The red stalks between the root and greens are also sweet when roasted (but careful they burn and char easily). Meanwhile, clean and sautee your vivid beet greens. When the beets can be easily pierced with a fork, they’re done. Run them under cold water and slip off their skins. Mash the roasted garlic and whisk it with balsamic vinegar and honey to taste. Pour that dressing over your sliced beets and seve them on top of the greens. Top the beets with a sharp, soft cheese: chevre, a creamy blue cheese or feta work best. Garnish with dill or a bit of mint. Improvise, as I did, adding minced ginger the other day.
The mild, almost cottage cheese-like Israeli feta we tried on beets the other day was a winning accent. Have you tried it?
Israeli feta
So dig into your beets. And once you do, just remember: no, that isn’t blood in your stool.
BaltimOregon to Maine 
Laura – We hjave roasted beets at least once a week. I have never roasted them with garlic before; I’ll have to try that – it sounds delicious! We tried growing our own beets last year but did not have much success. Out of 12 plants, we maybe got three teeny, tiny beets. They were incredibly sweet though! Sometimes I serve beets with cumin, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and fresh parsley. It’s just delicious! Judy
Judy
June 25, 2009 at 7:17 am
Nice! Yeah tiny beets are the sweetest!The big ones get rather horsey.
baltimoregon
June 25, 2009 at 8:08 am
Hi, I love the Israeli sheep’s milk feta, and I especially love it with beets. Recently I’ve had a glut of chard from my community garden plot, so I’ve been sauteeing it with garlic and olive oil, sprinkling with (a lot of) feta and (some) lemon juice, and topping it all with a couple of poached eggs. The heat from the chard and egg makes the cheese a little bit melty, and it’s a quick and easy supper.
Mary
July 21, 2009 at 1:28 pm
But most important, it’s delicious! I left that part out.
Mary
July 21, 2009 at 1:29 pm
oh I love the poached egg idea! Any technique you recommend for a perfectly poached one?
baltimoregon
July 21, 2009 at 3:50 pm