If That Don't Beet All

As I have mentioned before, we are up to our eyeballs in tomatoes right now because of the abundance we've been getting every week in our farm share. We also had a bag of beets in the fridge waiting to be loved. We have access to this amazing, fresh, organic produce and it feels awful when we have to throw it out.

Martha must have known, because the July/August issue of Everyday Food contained a recipe for Tomato-Beet Salad. I've had a subscription for years, and love this little magazine. I'd be lying if I said that I have tried every recipe, or even most of them, but I can always count on some good ones. It always goes on the shelf with dogeared pages.

Photo: nsgfarm2fork.com

Beets are not something I have always loved. I didn't even try my first beet until adulthood. It didn't help that I lived in a town with a sugar beet factory, so my high school years have an icky, sweet smell associated with them.

I love them! It also helps that they are freshly grown. I'm not sure how I'd feel about store-bought beets. I did buy a gold beet from Whole Foods once and liked it a lot . . . but again, it was organic and fresh. I like them roasted and sweet, but often toss them in a salad raw for the crunch.

Ingredients

• 1 pound scrubbed small beets
• 2 pounds tomatoes, preferably heirloom
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Seal beets in a foil packet. Roast on a rimmed baking sheet until tender, 75 minutes. When cool, rub beets with a paper towel to remove skins; slice. Slice large tomatoes, and halve cherry tomatoes, then arrange with beets on a platter. Top with feta, cilantro, and olive oil; season with salt and pepper.
   
   

Isnt' it lovely? We only put cheese on 1/2 so that my son could try it. Mr. Picky liked it!

This recipe was simple, delicious, nutritious, and all my husband's doing. My only suggestion: we used goat cheese instead of feta, and it needed a little extra sprinkling of salt to bring out the flavors. Feta is salty enough that you probably wouldn't need it, but goat cheese was a great variation.