the farmers marketer

recipe: Eat your beets and level up

By Kim Bayer AnnArbor.com Freelance Journalist

Posted on Tue, Jul 24, 2012 : 6 p.m.

Beet caviar is intensely good

Kim Bayer | AnnArbor.com Contributor

In my household, I usually get to have the beets to myself — except that this year the squirrels in my yard ate every single one of the Detroit Dark Red beets I planted. I'd come outside and find a squirrel on top of the fence gnawing on a red globe and looking at me like "Yah, what are you going to do about it?" In the morning I'd find empty spots where beets used to be, and a pile of dead leaves.

Luckily, beets are at the farmers' markets now — all the red, white, pink and golden beets I want.

I'm aware that not everyone loves beets the way I do. They have an intensity that not everyone can handle. Beets taste like the earth, and I happen to love that. They're one of the superheroes of the vegetable world. When I'm eating a sweet, earthy beet, I feel like I'm getting an energy packet that is leveling up all my micro-nutrients.

Some people say beets taste like dirt and they can't get over that. My answer is: Beet Caviar, one of the best beet dishes for the beet-curious.

Beet Caviar was introduced to me by Cathy King of Frog Holler Organic Farm. Cathy is one of the finest beet-growers on the planet today and if she says something is good, I listen. I have seen many confirmed beet-haters turn toward the path of righteousness after eating beet caviar. It's good on crackers. And even my husband likes it — though maybe not as much as Chocolate Beet Cake.

Beet Caviar

2-3 large beets (or 1 bunch any size beets) roasted, cooled, and skins removed
1-2 large cloves garlic (Cathy's recipe suggests up to 4 cloves of garlic!)
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
1-2 tablespoons rice vinegar or lemon juice

Grind up the walnuts in a food processor together with the garlic. Add cooked beets and process until well chopped. Add mayo, salt and pepper and grind to a paste. Usually when I make this I need to add a little vinegar to balance the sweetness of the beets — try adding a bit of vinegar or lemon juice until it tastes right to you.