Beat the Food Blues with Beets!

Firstly, note that "beat" and "beet" are different - in a rush, I misspell them. Spare yourself the shame of being a poor speller who lacks an understanding of homonyms.

It is easy to get into a rut with our veggies - we know what we like (and few of us probably would jump to say "Beets! Beets!"). But if you are sick of salads, stir-fries, or other standard veggie dishes, try beets. Here is a great resource on beets and their nutritional value (oh, hi, folate). Beets are beautiful - pink and white root vegetables that don't get enough credit. I have fallen in love and with my (family's) farm share I have access to fresh beets. I ran across a great recipe from Madhur Jaffrey's book Indian Cooking. Now my friend and I had a little spat - is it truly "cooking" to follow a recipe or should you just create in the kitchen? For people not comfortable in the kitchen, it's great and fine to use recipes - a way to learn. For people who feel they can create, fine. But I feel in the middle - not ready to create on my own but I like to deviate, put my own spin on things.

So that's what I did with this recipe I had found. I didn't have tomatoes to chop or even diced tomatoes as a replacement, so I used crush tomatoes, which basically is a thick sauce! So, the recipe became my own (and there is much more room to create and embellish).


What You'll Need:

• 4 tbsp oil for sauteing 
• Cumin seeds (something good to have on hand!)
• 2 cups beets, washed and cut into wedges
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp flour
• 1 and 1/2 cups of crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp (more if you like) salt
• 1 cup of water

What to Do:

1. Heat the oil (medium-high heat) and when hot, add the cumin seeds. Stir them around for a few (3 - 5) seconds.
2. When the seeds begin to pop (literally, you'll hear little pops!), add the garlic and saute until golden-brown. 
3. Add the onion and saute until onions are translucent and cooked through. 
4. Then add the cayenne pepper and the flour. Stir and coat the vegetables with the spice and flour.
5. Next add the crushed tomatoes, water, and salt. Bring to a simmer. 
6. Cover and reduce heat (low-medium) and keep at a gentle simmer for 30-35 minutes until the beets are tender (a poke with a fork does the trick!)
7. Once the beets are tender, remove the cover and let the dish continue to simmer 5-7 minutes, so that the sauce thickens up. Add some more flour if you want it a little thicker, or a little water if you want it thinner. 
8. Serve over rice and enjoy. 

There is a lot of the sauce with this recipe, so that's why I served it with rice. The rice soaks up the spicy tomato sauce so well. You could serve with orzo, pasta, couscous, or puree it into a soup! No matter what, enjoy knowing that you are eating one of the most wonderful roots in the world, the bold, beautiful beet.