Recipes for Health
Martha Rose Shulman on healthful cooking.
I sometimes wonder when I’ll run out of ideas for beets, as year after year around this time I’ve devoted a week’s worth of Recipes for Health to beets and their greens. But it hasn’t happened yet. Beetroots, whether roasted, steamed or raw, easily find their way into new salads, side dishes and main dishes. They are friendly with Mediterranean seasonings of all kinds: Greek, Middle Eastern, North African, Italian and Provençal. The greens are interchangeable with other mild-tasting greens like Swiss chard and spinach; one bunch of beets gives you two vegetables to work with. With the beets and their greens you get two sets of nutrients: anthocyanins and betalains, known for their antioxidant properties, from the beetroots, and vitamins K and A, as well as other phytonutrients – lutein and zeaxanthin – from the greens. Both are excellent sources of folate, and beets are a very good source of manganese, potassium and copper.
I find that I often need greens from two bunches to have enough for a recipe, which is one reason I’m always looking for new dishes for beetroots. This week, I made three vegan salads, one with beets and their greens drizzled with a garlicky tahini dressing that I’ve always loved with typical Middle Eastern dishes like deep-fried cauliflower and falafels. I combined beets with fennel and orange in a crisp, refreshing salad, and with wild arugula and herbs in another. I made a Greek phyllo pie with beets and greens, and a gorgeous beet purée with yogurt and North African spices. But pretty much every beet dish is gorgeous.
Steamed or Roasted Beets and Beet Greens With Tahini Sauce : A pungent Middle Eastern tahini sauce is all that is needed to season these simply steamed beets and their blanched greens.
Fennel, Beet and Orange Salad With Cumin Vinaigrette : This is a refreshing salad that has great staying power.
Greek Beet and Beet Greens Pie : Beets add color and substance to this classic Greek greens pie.
Wild Arugula and Beet Salad With Orange, Walnuts and Tarragon : This is a nourishing salad with sweet, peppery and pungent flavors.
Puréed Beets With Yogurt and Caraway : This is a North African twist on a Middle Eastern dish from Yotam Ottolenghi.