My mom is a wonderful cook and I love her, but I just can’t take her pickled beets. I think she tried to feed them to us kids one too many times. Just the thought of pickled beets on my plate bleeding red juice into my chicken, makes me cringe.
My distaste for beets creates a problem for me. Mom is right – I should eat them because they’re good for me. After all, that lovely red root vegetable is packed with those healthy antioxidants we’re told we should be adding to our diet. This meant I had to find a way to make those beets taste good.
To the rescue comes my friend, Carol, a beet fanatic. She loves beets and nukes them in the microwave all the time. I decided to give Carol’s beet cooking method a try, and add a sweet vinaigrette to the mix just for good measure.
Look! No beet juice in my chicken! I think I could take a liking to beets, thanks to Carol. If you aren’t a fan of beets either, give this salad a try. I’ll bet you’ll change your mind.
Happy cooking!
Serves 4
Save RecipeIngredients
- 4 cups beets, cubed
- 2 tablespoons shallot, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon walnut oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp tarragon
Instructions
- 1. Pour an inch of water in a microwave safe bowl and add beets. Cook on high for 20 - 25 minutes until beets are tender.
- 2. Mix remaining ingredients in a blender until smooth.
- 3. Combine dressing with beets and serve immediately, or chill in the refrigerator for a cold beet side dish.
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 92, Weight Watchers PointsPlus 2
Total Fat: 3.40g
Cholesterol: —
Sodium: 106mg
Total Carbs: 13.72g
Dietary Fiber: 3.91g
Sugars: 9.42g
Protein: 2.29g
Nutrition details obtained from whfoods.org, nutritiondata.com, about.com, and abouthomecooking.com. The statement made here are strictly my opinion and are not meant to replace medical advice from your physician. Please see disclaimer for further details. Nutrition information is compiled with MacGourmet. If you find discrepancies, please let me know. It’s important to me that I provide you with accurate information.
Yum! On a nice bed of crispy greens, this will be a welcome change from all the broccoli and Brussels sprouts that we’ve been eating as veggie sides! I love tarragon, too! Thanks, Kristi!
I’m a big fan of the sweet taste of tarragon. It worked really well with the shallots and beets.
I am the same way! I think I had one too many pickled beets and it really put me off them. I really should give them a try again.
You won’t be disappointed if you try them Carol’s way of cooking them. 🙂
I love beets – this looks delicious!
Love the beets…in salads, roasted…so many great recipes and they so good for you, thanks for sharing:)
I’ve roasted beets before too. They take a long time to cook. That’s why I liked Carol’s microwave suggestion
My husband hates beets but I really like them. I’ll have to test out your recipe since I’m constantly on the hunt for a way to convert him.
I keep getting beets in my csa, so I have to use them. It’s forced me to give them a try again.
This looks really good. I can just taste the beets and shallots… wonderful!
I love shallots in a vinaigrette. So mild and sweet.
looks delicious lovely colour
I love beets, and yours look amazingly delish! Will try this soon!
The shallots and tarragon really added flavor. The leftovers were wonderful for lunch the next day.
I actually loved my mom’s pickled beets, but no one else in this house will touch them. I’m going to print off your recipe and put beets on my shopping list. These sound marvelous…thanks to you (and Carol :)).
Friends at work adore pickled beets too. Maybe I should try them as an adult. I might have a different experience. 🙂
I have friends who love pickled beets too. Now I’m curious and will have to give them a try again after all these years.
I love red beet :), but I’ve never tried it pickled… Looks very tasty!!!
Oh, Kristi, I have a blog award for you: http://angellovescooking.blogspot.com/2011/02/tikvenik-aka-phyllo-pampkin-pie-with.html
Thank you for thinking of me! I love stopping by your blog. You are always cooking up something delicious. 🙂
Your mom is right. Mothers are always right. This is very disturbing. Anyway, the beets look awesome. Try to boil them and make a sauce with yogurt and garlic. You’ll love them.
Ha! You’re right, it is disturbing. I love the idea of yogurt and garlic. I often make my own yogurt. This would be a terrific use for it.
Loving the colour of those beets! I don’t eat beets though friends keep telling me they’re great lol. Maybe I should one day. I had beet juice one time and really didn’t like it so I’ve had a bit of an aversion to beets ever since! It’s terrible I know haha.
Not terrible. I was with you. Still haven’t eaten pickled beats, but I really liked these.
I’m smiling as I read this because I hear my husband saying the exact same thing as you! I personally love beets and have no problem with that vinegary “red juice” but not him. In fact, I’ll bet I haven’t eaten them in ten years or so because of that. Maybe this recipe will change his mind also. Thanks Kristi!
Sounds like your husband and I are two peas in a pod when it comes to pickled beets. I truly loved this recipe hot or cold. I’m now a beet convert.
Beets vinagrette? My mouth is watering just to look at the pictures…
I have to admit, I love the color in the dish. They make a pretty presentation.
ok…now hold on just a minute. I’m a big pickled beet fan. Were they her pickled beets or canned? My mom used to feed us canned and I thought they were horrid. I pickle my own beets these days and l-o-v-e them. Thanks for this recipe, always looking for new ways to try them.
They were canned in those days, but Mom cans her own now. I haven’t tried them after the canned experience. She’s a terrific cook, so I’ll have to break down and try the pickled ones again. 🙂
I really like red beets – pickled or not – they are so yummy good! 🙂
You can’t beat the nutrition boost can you? Lovely colors mean good for you food. 🙂
You convinced me…I’m going to have to give this a try. I normally don’t like beets either, but this salad sounds mighty tasty!
It was even better the next day. The flavors really melded together.
Confession: I LOVE PICKLED BEETS! Yep. They remind me of my grandma actually, who would always make them for family reunions, WITH pickled eggs 🙂 She always brought them for me because she knew I was one of the few people at the gathering who liked them.
However, your recipe sounds amazing too, so I’m sure I’d be a fan!
You would be in good company. My mom loves pickled beets too. 🙂
I thought I didn’t like beets because I had only had them pickled. Then I tried them roasted. Oh, yeah! 😀
I’m with you. I’ve had them roasted recently. Just like any roasted veggie, they were wonderful.
Kristi, I made a variation of your recipe tonight! SOOOOO good. I hope you don’t mind if I blog about it…I’ll link back to your recipe here. Thanks!
I’m so glad it worked for you. Don’t you wonder if people make your recipes and they turn out the same for them? Thank you for letting me know. Absolutely blog about it. I’ll look forward to seeing how it turned out for you and how you changed it. 🙂