Mighty Food Farm
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Beets are one of the mightiest of all vegetables. Steamed, roasted, pickled, or raw, beets add color, flavor, and nutrition to any meal.
We had to work extra hard this year to get a good crop in for winter markets and our CSA. Our first planting of beets was devoured by a family of blasted deer, so after that we decided to ensure that our next planting would be a success. We planted twice as many beets and row-covered them to fool the deer. It actually worked—to the dismay of our farm employees!
Our CSA members and market customers really enjoy the different beets we grow: Chioggia, Golden, and Red. The Chioggias have a striking pink color, and you can see concentric rings of white and pink inside when you cut them open. The glowing yellow-orange of the Golden beets lights up your cutting board when you’re preparing an evening meal.
Here is a little recipe for roasted beets, a favorite here at Mighty Food Farm.
Charles Currie and Lisa MacDougall own and operate Mighty Food Farm in Pownal, a certified organic farm. They grow a range of vegetables, herbs, flowers, and strawberries. Last year was their first farm season. They operate a CSA and sell to the Bennington Farmers’ Market, local grocery stores, and restaurants.
Photo by Chuck Currie
Roasted Beets with Walnuts, Pear, and Endive
(Adapted from Alice Waters’ “Chez Panisse Vegetables,”
Harper Collins Publishers, 1996)
2 lbs. Red and Golden beets
3 medium Bosc pears
½ cup of shelled walnuts
2 Tbs. of red wine vinegar
2 Tbs. of orange juice
¼ cup of olive oil
salt and fresh ground pepper
¼ lb. Belgian endive
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Trim and wash the beets, leaving the skin on. Place them on a baking sheet, tightly covered, with a little water. Roast them for 45 minutes, or until fork-tender. Cut the pears into pretty slices. Put the walnuts and pears on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven for about 5 minutes.
Make a vinaigrette by mixing the vinegar, orange juice, and olive oil. Season with salt and fresh pepper. When the beets are cool enough to be handled, peel them and slice them into little rounds. Toss them gently with the vinaigrette and arrange them on a plate with the Belgian endive and toasted pear slices. Drizzle any vinaigrette remaining in the bowl and garnish with the toasted walnuts.
