Healthy recipes for the new year: Beets five ways

Whether you roast, grill, boil or eat your beets raw, the beet root is one powerful vegetable. It contains powerful antioxidants, and it happens to taste great.

If you’re looking to introduce more beets into your life for a healthful new year, here are five recipes to get you started.

Try roasted beets with a tangy horseradish vinaigrette, beets with blood oranges, mint and orange flower water, beet latkes with cumin and coriander, beet and pomegranate salad, and beets with orange and almonds.

CALIFORNIA COOKBOOK: Really terrific recipes

ROASTED BEETS WITH HORSERADISH VINAIGRETTE

Active work time: 20 minutes | Total preparation time: 1 hour, 20 minutes | Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds beets
• Olive oil nonstick cooking spray
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons horseradish with beets
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Wash the beets under running water, removing any sand. Trim the greens from the beets, leaving 1 inch of the stems. Do not trim the root end.

Place the beets on a jellyroll pan. Spray the beets with nonstick olive oil spray. Cover the beets with foil and roast 30 minutes. Uncover and continue roasting until fork-tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove the beets from the oven and let them stand just until cool enough to handle. Cut off the stems and peel or scrape off the beet skins. Quarter the beets if they’re small or cut into sixths or eighths if large. Place in a bowl.

Combine the vinegar, water, sugar, beet horseradish, shallots, salt and pepper. Pour the vinaigrette over the beets. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Each serving: 89 calories; 300 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 0 saturated fat; 22 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 2.47 grams fiber.

BEETS WITH BLOOD ORANGES, MINT AND ORANGE FLOWER WATER

Total time: 1 hour, 10 minutes | Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 3 bunches small to medium beets
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons best-quality olive oil, divided
• Kosher salt
• 5 large blood oranges
• 2 tablespoons finely diced shallot
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• A few drops orange flower water
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 12 mint leaves, sliced thinly on the diagonal

Directions:

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the greens off the beets, leaving about half an inch of the stems attached. (Save the leaves for sauteing later.) Clean the beets well, and toss them with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt.

Place the beets in a roasting pan with a splash of water in the bottom. Cover tightly with foil and roast about 40 minutes, until tender when pierced. (The roasting time will depend on the size and type of beet.)

When the beets are done, carefully remove the foil. Let them cool, then peel them by slipping off the skins with your fingers. Cut the beets into one-fourth-inch thick slices.

Slice the stem and bottom ends from four of the blood oranges. Stand the oranges on one end and, following the contour of the fruit with your knife, remove the peel and cottony white pith. Work from top to bottom, rotating the fruit as you go. Slice the oranges thinly, into eight to 10 pinwheels, and discard the seeds.

Juice the remaining blood orange. Combine the diced shallot, vinegar, lemon juice, one-fourth cup blood orange juice and one-half teaspoon salt in a small bowl and let sit five minutes. Whisk in the remaining one-half cup olive oil, and a drop or two of orange flower water (be careful, it can be overpowering; a little goes a long way). Taste for balance and seasoning. Carefully toss the beets in a bowl with half the vinaigrette and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Taste for seasoning.

Place one-third of the beets on six chilled plates, loosely in a random pattern. Continue arranging the oranges, mint and remaining beets, layering the ingredients, letting them intertwine but not pile up on one another too much. You should have a beautiful, natural-looking mosaic effect. Spoon the rest of the vinaigrette over the salads and sprinkle a few drops of orange flower water over each one.

Each serving: 303 calories; 3 grams protein; 25 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams fiber; 22 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 79 mg. sodium.

BEET LATKES WITH CUMIN AND CORIANDER

Total time: 45 minutes | Serves 6 (about 12 latkes)

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds beets
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander seed
• 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley or cilantro
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil, for frying

Directions:

Rinse, trim and peel beets, and then shred them on the coarse side of a grater to yield about eight cups. Place the beets in a strainer or colander set over a bowl, and let stand 10 minutes to drain. Press the beets with a towel to remove any excess moisture, then place in a medium bowl.

Stir the cumin, coriander, parsley (or cilantro), salt, black pepper and baking powder into the beets, using a wooden spoon. Stir in the eggs, then the flour, and mix well to combine.

In a large frying pan, heat five to six tablespoons oil over medium heat until hot. For each latke, drop one-third cup of the beet mixture into the pan, flattening slightly with a spoon. Fry four to five latkes at a time, about four to five minutes on each side until deep red throughout and just lightly browned on the outside. Transfer the latkes to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Repeat until all of the latkes are cooked, adding additional oil as necessary for frying. Serve warm.

Each serving: 318 calories; 8 grams protein; 24 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams fiber; 22 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 142 mg. cholesterol; 1,026 mg. sodium.

BEET AND POMEGRANATE SALAD

Total time: 1 hour, 20 minutes | Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 3 to 4 medium beets
• 2 tablespoons pomegranate concentrate or molasses
• 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 to 3 small, dried red chile peppers, crushed
• Coarse sea salt
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 cup pomegranate seeds
• 1/4 cup lightly flavored olive oil

Directions:

Cook the beets in a covered medium saucepan of boiling water until tender, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool, peel and cut into very small dice. Place in a medium bowl.

Add the pomegranate concentrate, lemon juice, peppers, one-eighth teaspoon sea salt, or to taste, and combine. Set aside for about 15 minutes.

Toss the beets with the cilantro leaves and pomegranate seeds, drizzle with olive oil and serve.

Each serving: 118 calories; 1 gram protein; 9 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 9 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 24 mg. sodium.

BEETS WITH ORANGE AND ALMONDS

Active work time: 15 minutes | Total preparation time: 2 hours | Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound beets
• Juice of 3 oranges
• Zest of 1 orange
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
• 1/2 orange, for garnish
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped chervil or 1 to 2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon, for garnish

Directions:

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Trim the leaves off the beets, leaving about an inch of stem. Set the beets in a roasting pan. Bake until the skins are crinkled and loose and a sweet beety smell permeates the kitchen. Medium-sized beets should take about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, small ones about 1 1/2 hours.

Peel the beets and cut into 3/8-inch cubes. Place the orange juice, orange zest, beets and butter in a shallow saucepan or a skillet. Cook over low to medium heat for 15 minutes -- stirring occasionally -- then raise the heat to high to reduce the cooking liquid, about two minutes. The beets should be coated with an orange glaze. Taste. Salt if necessary, and add plenty of freshly ground pepper. Turn into a warm serving dish and top with the almonds. Squeeze the orange half over the cooked beets and garnish with the chervil or tarragon. Serve immediately.

Each serving: 207 calories; 153 mg sodium; 31 mg cholesterol; 16 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 4.09 grams fiber.

Want more healthful recipes? Follow me on Twitter: @Jenn_Harris_

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