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I can’t prove it, but I’m pretty sure that beets must be on the secret list (at least I couldn’t find it!) of least popular foods. But I love beets. They’re gorgeous, and their earthy taste stands alone.

I’ll grant you that canned beets aren’t very tasty. Like most vegetables, they seem to lose something in the canning process.

But beets are like lots of other foods: If you get good quality, fresh beets and prepare them nicely, even haters will like them—or at least eat them. My favorite ways of preparing beets are:

• Pickled
• In a salad with blue cheese
• Grated and sauteed quickly

Pickled beets

I don’t can things, but that doesn’t mean I can’t pickle things for ready consumption. The easiest way of all to make pickled beets is simply to boil or roast beets, peel them (after cooking for best color), and drop them into what’s left of your sweet pickle juice in the refrigerator. Or, you can use a recipe for pickled beets, and you’re good.

Beets and blue cheese salad

Here’s a recipe that’s a variation on the one in the The Silver Palate Cookbook (one of my cookbook standbys, although I should probably pop for the 25th anniversary edition since my old one is totally falling apart). The salad is beautiful and complex and delicious.

• 8 (2- to 3-inch) beets
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup pecan halves, toasted
• 1/4 pound Maytag blue cheese
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• 6-8 whole leaves tender lettuce, washed and dried (optional)

1. Wash beets and trim all but 1 inch of stems. Drop in boiling water, then simmer until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and cool.
2. Peel beets and cut julienne. Place in bowl with vinegar and oil; toss gently to coat. Cover and chill 30 minutes.
3. Toss nuts with beets. Arrange on serving platter or individual salad plates, lined, if desired, with lettuce leaves.
4. Crumble cheese over top, and grind pepper over mixture. Serve. Makes about 8 servings.

Variation: I don’t have any blue cheese in stock, so I’m making this one tonight with feta instead. It isn’t quite as good as with blue cheese, but still delightful.

Lemony grated beets

Grated beets cook quickly; you can even eat them raw. This recipe is easy and delicious. It’s an adaptation of a recipe from Nancy O’Connor’s Rolling Prairie Cookbook. Nancy’s on the staff at the Community Mercantile Coop here in Lawrence.

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 (2- to 3-inch) beets, peeled and coarsely grated
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Water
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or parsley

1. Heat butter in heavy skillet over medium heat. When foam subsides, add beets, and toss to coat.
2. When beets are hot, add lemon juice, reduce heat to low, and cover pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until beets are just tender, about 10 minutes. Add a little water if needed to prevent sticking.
3. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with dill or parsley. Makes 4 servings.

And furthermore…

As frequently happens in the plant world, the vibrant color in beets signals its nutritional powers. You can read about beets’ nutrition benefits at World’s Healthiest Foods. The page at the link includes other prep tips for beets and beet greens, which are also delicious and edible. If you buy your beets fresh from the farmers market, you get a two-fer: the beet root and the beet greens. Give the greens a quick saute.

Of course, if you’re presenting beets to a beet hater or skeptic, you might keep the nutritional benefits to yourself. Don’t want to turn anyone off with “but it’s good for you!”

How do you eat beets? Or don’t you?