Beets

So several months ago, my sister wrote a blog entry on discovering the tastiness of beets. I had been about ready to do a post on the theme myself - but decided to defer it for a time.
The time has come!
Beets are incredibly yummy. I remember once mom making beets and it being awful - I still remember the brown colored water, the putrid odour, and the childhood indignity of having to eat this vile vegetable. I never gave beets any further consideration - until coming to Ukraine where the national food - is borsch - a tasty soup made with beets - but actually not many and so it tastes nothing like the them. However, the fact that the beet borsch didn't kill me encouraged me to order them at a restaurant in England last February - Beets au daphine - they were AMAZING and I have been searching for a recipe ever since, but to no avail.
But, I bit the bullet and decided to try the beets anyway.
Are they good beets?, I asked the babushka in the market.
Excellent she said shoving a few specimens towards me.
Great, I 'll take two.
As she bagged up my purchase and gave me my change I asked - By the way, what do I do with them?
She gave me a recipe for salad -

Boil the beets until soft, peel them, chop them up, add mayonnaise, salt, and a little bit of garlic. I made the salad at the next bible study group - and people liked it - even though my beets were a bit crunchy (in fact the Ukrainians didn't know they were beets!) I served it again the next week too - this time with properly boiled beets - and it was received even more enthusiastically.

While this salad was good - I found I just loved munching on the beets with nothing on them but salt! Her beets were really good - another purchase, this time from the supermarket - did not yield such yummy results and the beets had to be smothered in mayonnaise to make them yummy.

However, the best recipe so far (other than the beets au dauphine) is one I found on NPR

Roasted Beets with Blue Cheese Sauce and Spiced Walnuts
Serves 6
4 medium beets
1 pint heavy cream
6 ounces Maytag blue cheese
Spiced walnuts (see recipe below)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
If beets have stalks, trim stalks 1/2 inch from beet. Wash beets gently under water, then wrap individually in aluminum foil.
Roast beets for 1-2 hours depending on sizes. A knife should slide easily into the beet, through foil, when done. Allow to cool to room temperature.
While beets are roasting, put cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and add blue cheese. Stir constantly until cheese has been fully incorporated into the cream.
Pour the cheese mixture into a food processor and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Remove beets from foil, then remove beet skins using a paper towel. (Wear kitchen gloves to avoid staining your hands.)
Cut roasted beets into desired shapes.
Drizzle cheese sauce over beets, then top with chopped spiced walnuts.
Spiced Walnuts
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Dash cayenne pepper
Dash sea salt
Black pepper to taste
Melt butter over medium heat in small saucepan. Add walnuts, then spices and toss for 30 seconds. Allow to cool to room temperature.