Plus 6 more of my favorite Beet Recipes!
A Simple Recipe using Ingredients from a local Farmers’ Market. It’s easy to steam beets! Add to an assertive and zesty vinaigrette with Green Garlic Scapes; the curly shoot of the garlic bulb… they’re like scallions with a garlic kick!
For the best flavor choose baby or young early-season beets.
I recommend healthy steaming beets until just cooked through and easy to slip off their peels to maximize their nutrition and flavor. Their concentration of phytonutrients, such as betalains, is diminished by heat.
(Although I really enjoy the flavor of roasted beets too, which cook for a longer time.)
Garlic Scapes are the flower bud of the hardneck garlic plant. The bud is removed to encourage the bulbs to thicken up.
The green shoots, or stems, that grow from those roots are known as garlic scapes!
The tops of the stem are the most tender – slice the remaining thinly.
They have a milder taste than the garlic cloves, similar to shallots or chives.
What to do with Garlic Scapes:
Since they taste like garlic, but a bright, fresh, green-colored version of it – you can use them anywhere you would use regular garlic!
They are usually sold in bunches – but at some farmers’ markets they are sometimes sold singly.
With a bunch, a favorite thing to do is make a batch of pesto!
You’ll get one with bright color and a similar but mellow flavor.
Think about using them like scallions – slice and add to a sauté.
Fabulous in a stir fry, accompanies potatoes wonderfully – and the perfect addition to pasta with olive oil and grated parmesan.
A Little Beet Nutrition – Beets provide some impressive health benefits:
Beets are filled with impressive amounts of vitamins and minerals, including B vitamins, iron, magnesium, potassium, fiber, folate and vitamin C.
They can help regulate blood pressure, may help boost brain health, help lower your risk for heart disease, help improve digestion and bowel movement and help fight inflammation.
A half a cup of beets contains only about 55 calories.
There are three main varieties of Beets: Red Beets, Golden Beets and Chioggia Beets (also known as candy cane beets; striped red & white.)
Beet Greens are super-nutritious!
Use them just as you would with chard, kale, and other leafy greens. They are rich in vitamin K, copper, manganese, iron and calcium.
See these other Creative Beet Recipes!
Enjoy!!
Karen