Russian salad from Ellie Krieger

2 med red/waxy potatoes, well scrubbed (about 12 ounces total)
2 med carrots, peeled and cut crosswise in half (about 7 ounces total)
2 med beets, scrubbed well (about 10 ½ ounces; see headnote)
1 cup canned white beans, such as navy or cannellini, drained and rinsed
½ cup sauerkraut, drained
⅓ cup diced dill pickles
½ cup chopped red onion
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 ½ tablespoons distilled white vinegar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons fresh dill sprigs, for garnish

Place the potatoes and carrots in a deep saucepan and the beets in a separate deep saucepan. Add cold water to cover each by about an inch and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook until the vegetables can be pierced with a skewer or paring knife. (They are best cooked until slightly underdone since they will continue to cook as they cool.) Remove the carrots with a slotted spoon after about 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and beets once they are done, about 25 minutes for the potatoes and 45 minutes for the beets. Refrigerate until cool.

Use your fingers and/or a paring knife to remove the peel from the beets, then cut the vegetable into ½ -inch dice. Peel and dice the potatoes the same way. Dice the carrots. Combine the potatoes and carrots, plus the beans, sauerkraut, pickles, onion, oil, vinegar and salt in a large bowl and toss to incorporate. Gently fold in the beets.

To serve, garnish each portion with dill sprigs.

summer beets stacks from wendyseewendydo.blogspot.com

  • 4 beets, small to medium sized
  • 4 ounces goat cheese
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup walnut oil
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, roughly chopped
  • salt & pepper
  • Preheat oven to 350º F.
  • Scrub, rinse and pat beets dry then rub with a small amount of olive oil and wrap tightly in foil (two beets per foil packet).  Roast for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until beets are tender and easily pierced with a knife.  Allow to slightly cool then carefully remove skin.  (The beets will stain your hands and clothing! So I use rubber gloves.)  Set aside.
  • In a small, dry frying pan toast walnuts until slightly browned.  Set aside.
  • In a small  owl, whisk together balsamic vinegar and walnut oil then season with salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside.
  • Once skin is removed slice beets width-wise into three or four sections (depending on the size of the beet.)
  • In layers, alternate beet slices and crumbled goat cheese.  Drizzle stacks with balsamic walnut oil vinaigrette, fresh thyme leaves and the toasted walnuts.

Beet and Avocado Salad with Feta Cheese and Basil from motherrimmy.com

  • 4 small roasted beets, sliced
  • ½ medium avocado, sliced
  • 5 leaves basil, thinly sliced (Chiffonade)
  • ¼ small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 4 tablespoons low fat feta cheese, crumbled
  • ½ tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 sqeeze lemon juice
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place whole and unpeeled beets in a foil packet in a single layer. Roast in the oven for 1 – 1 /12 hours until just tender. You don’t want mushy beets. When beets are cooled, peel off skin with your hands and slice.
  2. Layer beets, onion, basil and avocado on a plate. Sprinkle with feta cheese. Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

 

Pickled Beets/fermented beets Sally Fallon

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12 medium organic beets
seeds from 2 cardamom pods (optional)
4 Tablespoons whey
1 Tablespoon Celtic Sea Salt
filtered water

Prick beets in several places, place on a cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees for about 3 hours (see note above for alternative cooking), or until soft. Peel and cut into a 1/4 inch julienne. Do not grate or cut the beets with a – this releases too much juice and the fermentation process will proceed too quickly, so that it favors formation of alcohol rather than lactic acid.
Place beets in a quart-sized, wide mouth mason jar and press down lightly with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over beets, adding more water if necessary to cover the beets. The top of the beets should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage.

Roasted Beet, Sweet Potato & Kale Salad With Horseradish Dressing

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  • 1 large sweet potato, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 4 beets (red, golden or a combination), peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 head of kale (either curly or lacinato), chopped
  • 1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed (or buy the pre-rinsed quinoa)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Dice sweet potato into 1/2-inch cubes. Peel fresh beets (can use red, golden or a combination — please be careful with red beets because their color bleeds) and dice into 1/2 inch cubes.

Toss on a baking sheet with extra-virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, tossing occasionally until the vegetables are soft.

While the vegetables are cooking, blanch the kale to reduce bitterness and soften the greens. To blanch, stir the chopped kale leaves into boiling water for 2-3 minutes, drain, then run under cold water to stop the cooking process.

Rinse 1/2 cup of quinoa (skip this step if you bought pre-rinsed quinoa), put the rinsed quinoa and 1 cup of water in a pot, and bring to a boil. Once the water comes to a boil, turn the flame down to a low heat, cover the pot, and let the quinoa simmer for 12-15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.

Ingredients for horseradish dressing

  • 1 1/2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. pepper
  • 2 Tbsp. horseradish
  • 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp. low sodium vegetable stock

Put all ingredients in a container, put the lid on, and shake vigorously to combine. You can also use a blender, if preferred.

Combine the cooked vegetables and quinoa with the horseradish dressing. Can be served warm, room temperature or cold.  Serves 4

Rosy Cucumber Soup Recipe by Nina Graybill and Maxine Rapoport

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2 large cucumber
16 ounces pickled beets, drained, juice reserved
1/2 cup onion
2 tablespoons parsley
3 cups chicken broth (use veggies broth)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon pepper
salt and pepper — to taste
1/2 cup sour cream
green onion tops chopped

1. In two batches, puree cucumbers, beets, onions, and parsley in processor or blender, then blend in the chicken broth, seasonings and sour cream; transfer to a container. Taste for seasoning, adding reserved beet juice to taste. Refrigerate several hours or for several days before serving.

2. Sprinkle with chopped green onion tops or chives before serving. Serving Size: 6

beet and potato salad with blue cheese and dill, Damaris Phillips

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2 pounds new potatoes, quartered
3 tablespoons coconut oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound beets, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
1 cup chopped celery (about 2 stalks)
1/4 cup chopped green onions (just the greens)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (I like Smokey Blue best)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a bowl, toss the potatoes with 2 tablespoons of the coconut oil to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then spread the potatoes out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toss the beets with the remaining 1 tablespoon coconut oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper and spread out in a single layer on a second baking sheet. Add 2 tablespoons water to the beets. Transfer the baking sheets to the oven and bake for 35 minutes, or until the potatoes are golden brown, stirring halfway through. If the beets start to look dry, add a little more water. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the dressing: Add the mayonnaise to a bowl and whisk in the buttermilk and mustard. Set aside.

Transfer the cooked potatoes and beets (and any accumulated beet juices) to a salad bowl. Add the celery, green onions, dill, the dressing and some salt and pepper. Toss to coat well with dressing. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours. Just before serving fold in the blue cheese.

Beet Kvass – Sally Fallon

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This drink is valuable for its medicinal qualities and as a digestive aid. Beets are loaded with nutrients. One glass morning and night is an excelent blood tonic, promotes regularity, aids digestion, alkalizes the blood, cleanses the liver and is a good treatment for kidney stones and other ailments. Beet kvass may also be used in place of vinegar in salad dressings and as an addition to soups.

  • 3 medium or 2 large organic beetroot, peeled an chopped up coarsely.
  • 1/4 cup whey made fresh from raw milk, leave raw milkon the bench it will turn to cheese and whey within a few days (if fresh whey is not available just add another tablespoon of sea salt)
  • 1 tablespoon sea salt
  • filtered water

Place beetroot, whey and salt in a 2-quart glass container. Add filtered water to fill the container. Stir well and cover securely. Keep at rooom temperature for 2 days before transferring to refrigerator.

When most of liquid has been drunk, you may fill up the container with water and keep at room temperature another 2 days. The resulting brew will be slightly less strong than the first. After the second brew, discard the beets and start again. You may, however, reserve some of the liquid and use this as your inoculant instead of the whey.

Note: Do not use grated beetroot in the preparation of beet tonic. When grated, beets exude too much juice resulting in a too rapid fermentation that favors the production of alcohol rather than lactic acid.

beet and goat cheese dip/spread

1/2 jar of beets (15 oz jar), drained
4 ounces goat cheese — soft and creamy
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 large shallot — minced
2 teaspoons thyme leaves — chopped
salt

Place about half a jar of beets, drained into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until chopped well. Add in the remaining ingredients and pulse until well mixed and season to taste with salt..