Meatless Monday and the Candy Stripe Beet

What do you call a beet that looks like it’s right out of a Dr. Seuss book?  This favorite of mine is the chioggia ( kee-oh-gee-uh) beet. Meatless Monday welcomes the Candy Stripe Beet, mild in flavor and beautiful in color, it’s a great way to introduce your family to the healthy vegetable.

Originally from Northern Italy and popular in the 19th century, this colorful beet is making a comeback with the popularity of heirloom seeds and farmer’s markets. The striking pink and white spirals are bound to impress the first time it makes an appearance on your dinner table. The candy stripe can be cooked like any other beet-I’ve even eaten it raw! Tastes a bit like an apple, but less sweet. Be gentle when washing beets, as you want to keep the skin intact so nutrients don’t escape during the cooking process. You’ll also find there will be much less bleed of the color onto your hands than ruby red beets-a huge plus.

This earthy vegetable bring out a pretty strong emotion in people, you either love them or hate them.  Obviously I’m part of the fan club.  Beets come in a wide range of colors and sizes, but the candy stripe is one of my favorites.

If you still aren’t convinced-here are a few more tips:

• The Romans considered beets a natural viagra. The boron within is related to the production of sex hormones.
• Beets are high in potassium, magnesium, fiber, iron and vitamin A, B and C.
• They make a great tonic for purifying the liver.
• Beets contain betaine which is used in the treatment of certain types of depression.
• And a piece of trivia-beets were on the menu when the astronauts of Apollo 18 rendezvoused with Soyuz 18-they served borscht!

The rings of the Chioggia Beet while bright when raw, tend to fade a bit when cooked, the flavor is exceptionally sweet and mild. Adding  a little lemon juice or white vinegar to the water helps preserve their color. Mixing them with a golden variety, adding rice, goat cheese and pistachios I had the makings for a hearty dinner salad.

Candy Striped Beet, Wild Rice and Goat Cheese Salad

Ingredients : 

• 8-10 beets
• 1/4 c. pistachios
• 1 c. wild rice mix {i like the Lundeberg brand-it’s organic  and eco farmed}
• 3 oz herbed goat cheese
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt + pepper to taste

Cook the beets until fork done, but still firm {you don’t want to over cook}.  Using 2 c. of the beet water, cook the rice according to package directions. This adds a nice flavor to the rice, but you might have to strain it if the beets were particularly sandy. You can alternatively just use water if you are in a time crunch and want to cook the rice and beets at the same time. Cool and slice beets, chop pistachios. Crumble cheese into rice while still warm, add beets, pistachios, salt and pepper to taste and drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the top.  The salad can be served warm or cold.