Tuesday, August 11, 2009

grilled beets

griling beets 2

The bottom line is - fantastic!

My husband invented this one. My Lutz beets, his grilling. It was an experiment.

I've looked on-line for grilled beet recipes. They suggest grilling whole in foil, or par boiling, or marinating slices 30 min then grilling. We like to do quick food prep: very fresh vegetables - very quick grilling.

My husband make really nice grilled potatoes, carrots, fennel, onions, squash, etc. He slices about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick, brushes with olive oil and adds herbs and/or spices while cooking. Why not beets, we said.

RECIPE: slice fresh beets 1/4 inch thick, place on hot grill, brush with olive oil, cook until done (10-15 minutes), then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

We served these with grilled patty pan squash, onions, fava beans, and beef. A bit of fresh Thai basil on the squash and beef during grilling. All served over a bed of linguine pasta with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers on the side. I can recommend it!

Beet storage: I have a big crop of Lutz, Chiogga and White Detroit beets ready in the garden now. Beets need to be stored in cool, humid conditions. They'll last 3-4 months at the right conditions, like the bottom drawer of the fridge. The basement is too warm and dry. Since I don't have a root cellar, we're thinking of getting a small refrigerator to store these. My summer crop needs to be harvested soon and I have a small fall crop growing. We'll see.

11 comments:

Michelle @ Give a Girl a Fig said...

What a feast! It all sounds so tasty! My poor beets didn't make it this year...I planted my first crop in pine boxes. Come to find out this is NOT a good idea. I'll try again though as I do love some beets!

Lindsay said...

Those look sooooo good!

Karen Anne said...

Wow, those beets look good. I am wishing I had a grill :-)

I also have been trying to think of a root cellar alternative. The garage is an oven in summer and freezing in winter.

I sure would like to think of something that doesn't use energy, though.

Maryogim said...

that looks delicious. I have seen Alton Brown on the food network recommend storing beets in the refrigerator in sand. Clean sand, like you could purchase in a craft store - prevents air getting to the root.

Nigel Gnome said...

They look great! Beets are sposed to be sooo healthy as well, the juice lowers blood pressure apparently.
:)

Kristianna said...

Hello there ~ I follow your blog regularly, but do not post often.

I went out to my potatoes a few minutes ago and I have a bunch of yellow leaves on them and there are some nickel sized spots.

Is this the late blight? I can send a photo if you would like.

Thank you for any help.

K

Lisa A. said...

Yum! You can't beet (pun intended) a good grillfest! I know, I'm totally lame.

Jack Wright said...

Must...grill...beets.

Thanks for the inspiration!

Joanne Roach said...

I'm totally doing this! We are currently living in a tent in the field next to our house while we are having building work done and we are living totally off a big gas BBQ. The beetroot in our garden is doing well and we love it roasted but I hadn't thought of grilling it. Great idea!

Deborah Bier, PhD said...

We built a root cellar in part of our basement (1950's ranch). Walled it off with rigid foam insulation. There's a window in that "room", so we have 2 pipes into the opening -- one higher than the other. One for air intake when it's cooler outside, another for output of warmer air from the root cellar. It stays at ground temperature year-round. And it's fairly humid.

The main point here isn't that anyone else should do what we do, but that root cellars come in all forms and sizes. Including barrels dug into the ground, etc. Think outside of the box...uh, basement!

Unknown said...

When I visited an Italian market in Milan, Italy with my mother-in-law she bought some ready cooked beets. They were still whole, had the skins on and apparently they just put them directly in the coals until they are cooked. They also do onions in the same way!