Beet, Carrot, and Apple Slaw

A delicious, light taste of warmer weather with seasonal fruits and vegetables.  Serve it plain or over greens.

Ingredients:

1 golden or chiogga beet (red beets will die the whole slaw red); peeled and julienned
1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
1/2 apple (such as gala), julienned
juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
salt and pepper to taste
spinach or similar green, washed and torn into pieces (optional)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (optional)

Method:

1. Combine lemon juice, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a non reactive bowl.  Whisk to dissolve sugar.

2.  Add julienned vegetables to dressing and allow to sit at room temperature (the longer they marinate, the tastier, but they absorb plenty of flavor in 20 minutes or so).

3.  Serve as is, or, if you prefer as a salad, drain and reserve the extra dressing.  Slowly whisk in olive oil to form an emulsified vinaigrette.  Season greens with salt and pepper and dress in the dressing.  Serve topped with slaw.  

Marinated Chioggia Beet Salad

Ingredients:
3 medium sized Chioggia beets
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh chives or scallions, chopped
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
coarse ground pepper to taste

Clean and trim the roots and greens off the beets. I used a mandolin to slice them on the thinnest setting, but if you don't have a mandolin you can slice them thinly by hand. Take your time doing this, both methods may be both tricky and dangerous.

In a small mixing bowl whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, rice vinegar, chives, salt and pepper.

In a shallow dish pour the vinegar mixture over the beets, coat each beet well and let sit for one hour. After the hour is up, flip the beets around so each side is marinated. The beets will be ready to eat after two hours. You can let the beets sit and marinate as long as you'd like, however after two hours the red and white brilliant stripes will start to bleed together.

LIVING SIMPLY GLUTEN FREE

Roasted Beets with Red Onion, Poblano and Lime

This delicious and simple recipe comes from Kitchen Konfidence.



Ingredients
-1.5 pounds small red beets (I used 3)
-1 large red onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
-2 poblano peppers
-1/3 cup olive oil
-3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
-1 teaspoon kosher salt
-Freshly ground black pepper
-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
-3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Instructions

-Preheat oven to 425°F.
-Start by preparing the beets. Trim the root and tip end of each beet, peel, then cut into wedges.
-In a large bowl, combine beets, red onion and whole poblanos. In a smaller bowl, add olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, kosher salt and several turns of black pepper, whisking to combine. Drizzle the liquids over the beets, red onion and poblanos, tossing to evenly coat.
-Spread vegetables out on a rimmed baking sheet then transfer to the oven. Roast until the poblanos and soft and blistered, stirring every 10 minutes (should take about 25 – 30 minutes). Remove the poblanos from the oven but continue to roast the beets and onions. Place the peppers in a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Continue cooking the beets and onions until the beets are tender (10 – 20 minutes longer). Set aside to cool.
-Once the poblanos are cool enough to handle, peel off the skin, remove the stem and gently scrap out all seeds. Give the poblanos a rough chop.
-Combine beets, onion and poblanos in a serving bowl. Add lime juice and cilantro, tossing to combine. Season with additional kosher salt and ground black pepper if needed.

Chilled Golden Beet Soup

Ingredients:

3 large golden beets

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil [coconut oil would work as well]

1 small onion, minced

1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
3 cups of vegetable broth

1/2 cup almond milk

sea salt and course ground pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

1. Scrub then halve your beets and drizzle a 2 teaspoons of olive oil and sprinkle sea salt and pepper on top. With your hands massage them until they are coated evenly with the olive oil. Roast them for about 45 minutes to an hour. Allow them to cool them and then you can peel off the outer layer or their skin; if the beets are thoroughly clean peeling off the skin is optional and leaving them on will create a deeper flavor.

2. In a blender combine the cooled beets with a cup of vegetable broth. Blend until smooth. I chose not to add my garlic and onion in at this point, because I wanted my final product to have some texture. If you'd like your soup to be extra smooth, add your onions and garlic in with your beets and puree.

3. In a large saute pan, heat the left over teaspoon of olive oil on low and add in the onions and garlic. Cook through for a few minutes, then add the remaining 2 cups of vegetable broth, the beet puree, almond milk and turmeric. Stir together well and allow to simmer for a few moments. This soup works well hot, but the flavors really develop as it cools. Allow to cool and then refrigerate to chill for a few hours.

Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt and fresh scallions, just because it's only slightly indulgent.

Serves: 4
Total time: 4-6 hours [1 hour if serving hot]

LIVING SIMPLY GLUTEN FREE

Beet and Potato Hash

Ingredients:

1 bunch beets, washed, tops and roots trimmed
1 bunch beet greens, stemmed, washed, and finely chopped
3-4 yukon gold or red potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
a little olive oil
salt, pepper, and onion powder to taste
fried egg for serving (optional)

To Roast the Beets (in advance):

1.  Place whole beets on a sheet of aluminum foil and wrap to form a package, taking care to leave no hole through which steam can escape.  Place the package on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 F until beets are fork tender (about 1 hour). 
2.  Unwrap and allow to cool to room temperature.
3. Using your fingers, squeeze the peel off the beets (it should come off easily).  Dice into 1/2 inch cubes and set aside (or refrigerate until ready to make the hash).

To Make the Hash:

1.  Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet and add the potatoes.  Cook until potatoes begin to get a little color on them, about 5 minutes.
2.  Add the beet greens (they should be so finely chopped, they look like parsley coating the potatoes).  Season with salt, pepper, and onion powder to taste.
3.  Continue to cook until potatoes are nearly soft (about 20 minutes).
4.  Add the beets.  Re-season as necessary.  Continue to cook until beets begin to get a bit crispy on the outside (about 5 minutes).
5.  Stir in the mustard.  Then stir in the balsamic.  Allow both to absorb completely into the potatoes/beets.
6.  Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until all veggies are soft on the inside with a bit of a crust on the outside (a few minutes more).
7.  Top with a fried egg, if desired (the yolk is delicious on the hash!) and enjoy!

Spicy Ethiopian Style Beets

This recipe comes highly recommend from Wyomissing CSA shareholder, Kevin. He's been making this with the delicious red beets that have been arriving in the 2012 Winter Pantry CSA Share and serves the dish with yogurt, a little dry cilantro, sesame seeds, and a boiled egg. Thanks, Kevin!

Spicy Ethiopian Style Beets
Ingredients
1 bunch/bag beets
2 to 3 onions, diced
2 to 3 spoonfuls of butter
3 to 4 spoonfuls of Berbere (see recipe below)
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
salt and pepper, to taste
water to volume

Directions
1. Cut the tops and ends off the beets and soak for half day (skip this step if you don't have time, but it will make the beets easier to peel and helps to keep you from over-salting the meal generally). Peel and cube the beets.
2. Over low heat in a sauté pan, sweat the onions in 2 spoonfuls of butter. When the butter is softened, salt and pepper the onions to taste, then stir in the berbere. (This is like cooking a roux. If a more watery/soup-like dish is desired, add a can of unsalted crushed tomatoes after the onions have taken the color of the spices).
3. Over medium-high heat in a stock pot, add the beets and can of chicken stock. Cover the beets with additional water. Once the chicken stock is bubbling, add the onion mixture.
4. Serve when the beets are tender.

Berbere Recipe (From The Africa News Cookbook: African Cooking for Western Kitchens. Published in 1985 by Africa News Service)

Ingredients: 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon ground coriander, ½ teaspoon ground cardamom, ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds, ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, 2 tablespoons salt, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon allspice, 1¼ cup cayenne pepper (substitute with paprika or a milder red chili for a milder result), 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and ½ cup paprika

Directions: In a heavy saucepan or cast iron skillet, toast the following over low heat for 4 to 5 minutes: ginger, cardamom, coriander, fenugreek, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and allspice. Shake or stir to keep from burning. Add the salt, cayenne pepper, paprika, and black pepper and continue toasting, stirring constantly, for 10 to 15 minutes.

Happy Valentine's Day from Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative! (And Molten Chocolate Beet "LoveCakes" Recipe)

LFFC Red Beets

Happy Valentine's Day from Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative! It's been a while since we've posted - it's very busy here at the Co-op as we're midway through our first-ever Winter CSA Season and preparing for what promises to be an awesome Spring/Summer Season. (If you haven't signed up yet - we're still accepting applications! Sign-up for both the Spring/Summer AND Fall Seasons at the same time and receive a $35.00 discount through April 20th).

In the meantime, here is a delicious-looking recipe adapted from one of our favorite blogs, The Vegetable Centric Kitchen. Definitely check this one out come summertime for some great veggie inspiration. This recipe comes highly recommended from LFFC staff member, Jamie.

Molten Chocolate Beet "LoveCakes"
Ingredients
3 ounces dark chocolate (at least 70%, plus some chunks for stuffing)
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons evaporated cane juice organic sugar (can substitute with honey)
1 egg
1 cup cooked beet puree
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ teaspoon vanilla or orange extract (or ¼ teaspoon of each)
pinch sea salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and chocolate together in a small pan over low heat. Once completely melted, remove from heat and add remaining ingredients. Mix together and pour into cupcake liners. Place a chunk of chocolate into the center of each cup of cupcake batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy while still warm!

Beet Hummus

Hi everyone,
I've been having a great summer full of cooking and baking using my CSA vegetables and fruit, so I decided to start contributing to the recipe blog. I live in Center City Philadelphia with my husband and four-year-old daughter. We get a full share of vegetables, a fruit share, and eggs and milk from the buying club. We love Lancaster Farm Fresh!

I have about four bags of beets in my fridge right now, so I needed a way to use some since more are coming this week. I found this recipe on Simply Recipes and thought it sounded interesting; I wasn't sure how it'd taste, but I was willing to try it. It's delicious! I love the fact that it can be frozen and I told my daughter it was Pinkalicious Dip, which convinced her it was worth a try.

Beet Hummus
Yield: 2.5 cups
Adapted from Simply Recipes.

Ingredients
3/4 lb. beets (about 5 medium sized beets), scrubbed clean, cooked, peeled, and cubed*
3 T. tahini (Sesame Paste)
5 T. lemon juice
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1 1/2 T. ground cumin
1 T. lemon zest (zest from approx. 2 lemons)
Generous pinch of Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste

*To cook the beets, I use Mark Bittman's roasted beets recipe. Wrap a few beets (unwashed, uncut) in aluminum foil. Make as many packets as you need for the beets you're roasting; each packet of beets should be similarly sized. I usually put 3-4 beets in one packet. Place your aluminum foil packets of beets on a baking sheet and bake at 375°F for about an hour, or until easily penetrated with a knife or fork. Once the beets have cooled, the skin will peel off easily.

Directions
1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings and ingredients as desired.
2. Chill and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for longer storage.

We ate this with flatbread, baby carrots, and the baby bell peppers that were in our share last week.

Red Beet Risotto with Rosemary, Goat Cheese, and Pistachios

Red Beet Risotto with Rosemary, Goat Cheese, and Pistachios
Ingredients
1 onion, finely chopped
3½ tablespoons butter
1 half cup white wine
2½ cup Arborio rice
6 cups vegetable stock
3 to 4 red beets, peeled, boiled, and diced into small cubes
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
goat cheese, crumbled
pistachios, chopped

Directions
In a large pot, heat butter over medium-low heat. Add onion and saute for a few minutes. Add rice and stir to coat with butter for a few minutes more. Meanwhile, heat wine and vegetable stock in separate pots. Add white wine to the rice and stir until absorbed. A half a cup at a time, add the vegetable stock. Stir until absorbed before adding the next helping. If you run out of vegetable stock, you can add hot water. Make sure to stir rice constantly. When the dish is nearly done, add beets and rosemary, as well as salt and pepper to taste. The rice will turn a beautiful pink/magenta. Serve topped with crumbled goat cheese and chopped pistachios.

Dill, Beet, and Potato Salad

This recipe comes from D.C. CSA Shareholder Steph, who has her own blog - 321delish. Along with triathlon-training updates, she features some pretty tasty recipes using items from her weekly share. Check it out!

Dill, Beet, and Potato Salad
Ingredients
5-6 small red potatoes, chopped
1 large beet handful of baby carrots, sliced (or 2 small carrots, sliced)
½ small onion, finely chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1 can sweet peas
3 dill pickles (more or less, to your liking)
1/3 cup chopped fresh dill
juice of 1 lemon
olive oil
salt and pepper
shredded cabbage, optional

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Wrap the beet in a piece of foil and roast in the oven for about an hour. While the beet is roasting, boil the potatoes and carrots. Be sure not to over cook, or they’ll get mushy!
3. Let all vegetables cool completely. Peel the beet, and roughly chop it into bite-sized pieces. In a bowl, add the onion, green onions, peas, pickles, dill, and shredded cabbage (optional). Stir in the potatoes, beet and carrots. Dress with the juice of one lemon and a drizzle of olive oil. Salt and pepper to your taste.

Baby Beets With Balsamic Honey Glaze and Garam Masala

This recipe is courtesy of Tigers&Strawberries Blog (http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/).

Baby Beets With Balsamic Honey Glaze and Garam Masala
Serves 2 (The author notes, "...you can scale this recipe up however you like in order to make more. Just be aware that the garam masala should be added to taste in larger quantities—spices never ever scale up perfectly by simple multiplication the way other ingredients do.")

Ingredients
½ pound baby beets, tops and root ends trimmed, peeled and quartered
water as needed
pinch kosher salt
½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon wildflower or other honey
1 teaspoon butter
¼ teaspoon garam masala–or to taste
⅛ cup cilantro leaves for garnish

Directions
1. Put beets in a small saucepan with only enough water to barely cover them. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook at a brisk simmer until tender enough to be pierced by a fork, but still firm.
2. While the beets cook, allow the water to reduce naturally to about half of its original volume. If, by the time the beets are done to your liking, there is still too much water, just drain some out. Then stir in the other ingredients, except for the cilantro, and let it simmer for a minute or two more to allow the flavors to mingle and the sauce to thicken slightly.
3. Sprinkle with the cilantro leaves and serve either immediately or after allowing the beets to come to room temperature.

Pickled Beets

This recipe comes from The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook by Christopher Kimball, published in 1998. Kimball writes that “Pickled beets are a classic farmhouse preparation since they keep well—a few weeks—in the refrigerator and they go will with most meats. They also pack a lot of flavor, which is helpful when serving a simple roast.”

Pickled Beets
Serves 4

Ingredients
⅓ cup red wine or cider vinegar
½ cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (optional)
⅛ teaspoon dry mustard 1.8 teaspoon ground cloves
⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon salt
4 cups boiled or roasted beets

Directions
Combine all ingredients except beets in a large skillet. Bring to simmer over medium-high heat, reduce heat to medium, and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add beets, increase heat, and simmer, stirring frequently for 8 to 10 minutes or until nicely glazed. Remove from heat and serve hot, at room temperature, or chilled.

Lemon Roasted Beets with Feta

Thanks to a CSA member in Rutledge, PA for this delicious recipe!

Lemon Roasted Beets with Feta
Serves 4

Ingredients:
3 large beets
4 cloves garlic
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
¼ cup feta cheese

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel the beets, cut them in half, and slice them into 1/4" thick slices. Place in large baking dish with garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Tightly cover the dish with foil, place into the oven, and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until beets are fork tender. Remove from the oven, place on a serving platter, and top with fresh thyme and feta. Serve and enjoy!