What to do with beets

A girlfriend of mine who started her first CSA subscription this year recently emailed me for help with what to do with her beets. I thought I would share my response here, as I suspect many people can find the purple veggie a conundrum.

The most basic way to prepare them is to season with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake them for a long time till they can be easily pierced with a fork (depending on how thick, up to an hour). You can throw either them in a roasting pan or just wrap them up in tin foil. Once they are cooked, immediately get them into a sealed plastic bag till they have cooled to the point you can handle them. That is how you can more easily remove the peel. However, expect to have your fingers stained for a few days regardless. And be careful of getting them on anything - it is a very strong color die!

Here are some recipes that while I haven't made myself, sound like a unique use of the beets:

1. If you have a way of slicing them real thin, this sounds good: Sweet Potato and Beet Chips with Garlic Rosemary Salt (Giada De Laurentiis)
2. If you have lots, you can pickle them: Pickled Beets (Alton Brown)
3. Here is a nice recipe without roasting them: Sweet Beet Dressed Slaw (Rachael Ray)
4. For a nice fall day, or would probably be good served cold: Beet and Fennel Soup (Cooking Light)

Also, if you ever get the beet greens, they are so tasty! Cook them like you would spinach or Kale - I love them!