Until I signed up for a weekly Farm Box delivery from Farm Fresh, I had never tried beets. Isn’t that terrible? I don’t think my mother ever cooked with them – and by the time I was older and had opportunities, I had bought in to the beets are icky mentality, without ever even really knowing why. When I first saw beets in the box that I received – I’ll freely admit, I was more than a little stumped as to what I was going to do with them. I had made a deal with myself that I would try and cook with everything that I received, even if I’d never used it or had no idea how to use it, or had not liked it in the past (or atleast to give it a chance before requesting a substitution, such as with raddichio) But after a little googling, I decided to give roasting them a go, since people praising roasting outnumbered other methods atleasdt 2 to 1.

I have no idea what I was expecting – but the flavor of roasted beets was surprising, and delicious. Sweet, but earthy, with such a bright and fun color. I’m sold. I can’t believe I waited so long to try them. They’re just dandy by themselves, but also bring a great deal of fun to the flavor party – such as in this dish. The sweet beets, tangy tangelos, and sauteed greens just meld so beautifully together in this dish; creating a veggie dish that is not only delicious, but colorful and pretty, too.

Ingredients:

• 3 Beets; roasted*, peeled, and diced
• 1 bunch mixed Braising Greens (I used Collards, Red Chard and Beet Greens); stemmed and cut in the 1″ ribbons
• 3 Shallots; finely chopped
• 1 Tangelo; zested and juiced
• 2 Tangelos; peeled and sections seperated
• 1 lemon; juiced and zested
• 2 tbs Bacon Grease
• 1 tbs Fresh Dill; finely chopped
• 1 tsp Fresh Rosemary; de-stemmed and minced
• Kosher Salt; to taste

Method:

• Heat Bacon Grease in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat.
• Add the Shallots and saute until just begining to turn golden
• Stir in the Rosemary and cook until fragrant
• Add the Greens and saute until greens are tender
• Transfer Greens to a medium sized bowl and toss with remaining ingredients
• Serve warm or chilled

*To Roast beets, simply wash the whole beet root, trim stems to about 1″ in length, and lightly coat with Olive Oil. Place in a oven safe pan with a tight fitting lid (recommend: Dutch Oven) and roast at 350º for 1-2 hours, or until tender.