Spotlight: Beets

Health Benefits
Beets are high in many vitamins and minerals: Potassium, magnesium, fiber, phosphorus, iron; vitamins A, B & C; beta-carotene, beta-cyanine; folic acid. These are but a few of the many nutrients, vitamins and minerals that can be found in beets and beet greens.
Beets cleanse the body: They are a wonderful tonic for the liver, works as a purifier for the blood, and can prevent various forms of cancer.
Beets help your mental health: Beets contain betaine, the same substance that is used in certain treatments of depression. It also contains trytophan, which relaxes the mind and creates a sense of well-being, similar to chocolate. Beets can also lower your blood pressure. So if you’re already steamed about not eating beets, you can get a two-fer by diving into them right away.  [source]

Storage
To store beets, trim the leaves 2 inches from the root as soon as you get them home. The leaves will sap the moisture from the beet root. Do not trim the tail. Store the leaves in a separate plastic bag and use within two days. The root bulbs should also be bagged and can be stored in the refrigerator crisper drawer 7 to 10 days. Cooked or canned beets may be refrigerated up to one week. Fresh cooked beets may also be frozen up to ten months. Be sure to peel before freezing in airtight containers or baggies, leaving no air in the container. They may be frozen whole or in cut pieces. [source]

Preparation & Serving Tips
-Boil them! Boiling beets with the skins on helps them retain their color and nutrients. Boiling also makes them easier to peel by rubbing the beets under cold water. To remove the beet color from your hands, rub a mixture of salt and lemon juice onto your skin (don't do this if you have any cuts or scrapes) and then rinse with soap and water. [source]
-Roast them! Toss chopped beets with olive oil, onions, carrots and other root veggies. Try this recipe for Roasted Beets with Mint-Yogurt Sauce from Martha Stewart. Or this one for a Roasted Beet & Onion Salad.
-Beet chips! Cut beets into thin slices, and put in oven at 350 until crisp (but be sure to catch them before they turn brown).
-Pickle them! Boil beets until tender, peel, and then cut up and let set in brine overnight. Check out a recipe for pickled beets here.

Beets are especially delicious when accented by a salty cheese, whether queso fresco or ricotta salata. - Sharon Hage, York Street (Dallas)

Flavor Friends
Apples, BUTTER, caraway seeds, CHEESE (especially goat, parmesan, roquefort, and salty cheeses), chervil, chives, dill, garlic, honey, horseradish, LEMON, MUSTARD (DIJON), OLIVE OIL, onions, ORANGE (juice, zest), parsley, PEPPER, pistachios, SALT, SHALLOTS, sour cream, TARRAGON, VINEGAR (especially balsamic, cider), WALNUTS AND WALNUT OIL, yogurt

Find more recipes for beets in our recipe index.