How to beet the holidays

At the winter farmers market, I saw the most enormous beets. Larger than softballs, a bag of six went for $5. The growers are from Belarus. She’s as sweet as the Virgin Mary. He’s a welder, with a handshake that could crush golf balls. Feeling goofy with holiday cheer, I had to jest.

“Do you have any beets that are, like, bigger?” I asked, holding my hands apart to demonstrate.

His windblown cheeks turned crimson as he squinted, pondering if he should take offense. I broke the tension with a laugh. He punched me in the shoulder. Ouch.

I asked how they like to eat beets. He leaned in conspiratorially. “Grated,” he said, gesticulating as much. “With Italian dressing.” He kissed his fingertips.

She gave me a recipe that I have come to call Christmas Sweater because it’s busy and goes with everything. Consisting of cubed beets, carrots, potatoes, onions and pickles, it’s both a side dish and a condiment.

As for those grated beets, I was surprised how palatable they were. Mixed with Italian dressing, they were indeed finger-kissing good, though I prefer them tossed with olive oil, salt and balsamic and topped with goat cheese.

But perhaps my favorite thing of all to do with grated beets is to fry them into pancakes, like a beet-based version of the potato latkes my Jewish mom would serve for Hanukkah. The beets melt into a sweet, savory mouthful that will leave you wanting more.

Beet latkes, a take on traditional potato latkes, melt into a sweet, savory mouthful that will leave you wanting more.

So, the next time you come across a big ol’ bag of beets, you know what to do. As you would expect with something high in sugar that tastes like earth, beets will keep you grounded — and going — for the holidays and beyond.

Beet latkes

Serves two

• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup beets, coarsely grated
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Dashes of pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Garnish idea: fresh dill and sour
• cream or mayo

Beat the egg and milk, preferably with an egg beater. Add the flour and beat again. Then add the grated beets, along with the salt and pepper. Mix well and let it sit for 15 minutes.

Heat the oil and butter in a pan on medium heat. When it’s hot enough to sizzle, add golf-ball-sized glops and press them into sub-inch-tall pancakes, far enough away from one another that they don’t touch. After about five minutes, flip them. When nicely browned on both sides, serve with dill and your choice of crème.

Christmas Sweater

Serves four as a side, two as a main

• 2 half-pound potatoes, peeled and
• cut in half
• 1 pound beets, peeled
• 1 pound carrots, peeled
• 1 medium onion
• 2 cups dill pickles
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Steam the potatoes until soft on the outside but just a bit stiff in the middle, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and peel and cube the veggies as perfectly as possible. Do the beets last, as you will need to wash the cutting board immediately.

Whether it’s an onion, potato, pickle, carrot or beet, start by cutting it in half, lengthwise, and lay the flat sides down. (You can cut carrots down to four-inch lengths.) Slicing straight down, cut off the tops and bottoms, then turn the knife 90 degrees and make a series of parallel cuts, about a quarter-inch apart, along the top-to-bottom axis. Turn each newly sliced half 90 degrees and make another series of crisp, quarter-inch cuts.

The next part is tricky because the vegetable wants to fall apart. Try to pull apart each twice-sliced half like you’re cutting a deck of cards and roll it onto the cutting board so you can cut perfect cubes. If it all falls apart, just do the best you can.

Bake the cubed beets and carrots in separate dishes for about half an hour, stirring each pan once (with separate implements), until they are a little soft and a little crunchy. Then allow them to cool to room temperature.

When everything is cool, cubed and cute, gently toss everything together, minus the beets, along with the salt and oil. Taste and adjust the seasonings, gently toss in the beets and serve.