This Week's Share-More Beets and Carrots

I wanted to thank everyone for a very successful first week of the CSA and I apologize for not getting these recipe ideas posted sooner.  This week's share will look very similiar to last week's with a few additions including scallions, baby squash, and a spicy salad mix. 

This Week's Share:
Head Lettuce
Mixed Lettuce
Spicy Salad Greens
Very Spicy Arugula
Baby Squash
Scallions
Beets
Carrots
Mint

Below is a great meal idea from CSA member Nikki Graham.  Enjoy the recipe and enjoy your share.

From the Root to the Shoot: Roasted Beets and Baby Carrots with Sauteed Beet Greens and Garlic Scapes
I don't know about you, but I love it when I get to use the whole of a plant, in this case the beets (the root), and the gorgeous beet greens (the shoots). It's especially arousing when I can turn this whole into a delicious dish! I ended up serving this alongside grilled chicken and more garlic scapes (they are delicious grilled, by the way). Totally unnecessary, although the two paired beautifully. The beet dish is hearty in its own right, especially with a little goat cheese (and perhaps a sprinkling of toasted sunflower seeds or slivered almonds to add protein). I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Ingredients

8-10 beets with tops (greens)
2 bunches of Inverbrook baby carrots (about 15-20), tops removed, ends trimmed (slice any thick ones in half or quarters vertically so they roast somewhat uniformly)
2 garlic scapes, finely chopped
Small handful of chopped chives
3 glugs of extra virgin olive oil
2 T white wine vinegar
1 T local honey (support local beekeepers! :-))
Goat cheese
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400.
2. Remove the tops from the beets.
3. Remove the stems from the tops and chop them. Set aside.
4. Trim the long, skinny ends off the beets (I just break them off).
5. Place the beets in a roasting pan or glass pyrex dish, cover, and roast until tender (easily pierced with a fork).
6. While the beets are roasting, toss the baby carrots in a bit of olive oil on a baking sheet and season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper.
7. Once the beets have been in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or so (almost done), add the carrots to the oven and roast until tender and starting to brown in spots (they should roast much quicker than the beets).
8. While the beets and carrots are finishing roasting, add a glug of olive oil to a skillet, along with the garlic scapes, and turn the heat to medium. Once the pan is hot and the scapes become fragrant, add in the chopped beet greens and saute until wilted. Throw in a pinch or two of sea salt and cracked pepper.
9. Once the beets are tender, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool a bit while the carrots finish roasting.
10. Once the beets are cool enough to handle, slip the skins off and cut them into quarters or sixths, depending on size.
11. Once the carrots are finished roasting, toss them together with the beats.
12. Whisk together another glug of olive oil, the honey, and the white wine vinegar. Add a pinch of sea salt, a dash of pepper, and the chives. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
13. Toss this dressing with the beets and carrots. Taste and adjust.
14. Serve the the dressed carrots and beets atop a bed of sauteed beet greens, along with bits of goat cheese.
15. Garnish with a bit more cracked pepper and serve.

Serves 6 as a side dish.

Photo by Kiah Graham