This week in our farm share box among the tomatoes, corn, cantaloupe, and basil, sat a bunch of red beets and a bunch of golden beets. I was excited to see the beets because they are an easy and tasty side dish. However, I had never before seen golden beets. They were a bit smaller than their red counterpart and their skins were a bit paler. A little research revealed that red beets grow more quickly than yellow beets, and that is why farmers tend to plant more of them.
According to the George Mateljan Foundation, beets are “an excellent source of heart-healthy folate and a very good source of the antioxidants manganese and vitamin C as well as heart-healthy potassium. Beets are a good source of digestive-supportive dietary fiber, free radical scavenging copper, bone-healthy magnesium, and energy-producing iron and phosphorus.”
I started by peeling and chopping the yellow beets into chunks. When I did this, I found that the golden beets had a nice yellow flesh with reddish stripes running throughout. Then I diced the red beets – they have such a pretty deep purple hue. I roasted the beets separately with olive oil, salt and pepper, and then tossed them together once they were cooked – that way the red beets did not change the hue of the golden ones. SensitiveHusband and I enjoyed this side dish. The beets were sweet and the golden beets were even more tender than the red ones. If you see golden beets at the store or farm stand, pick them up – you won’t be disappointed!
Roasted Medley of Red and Golden Beets
Ingredients
1 bunch golden beets
1 bunch red beets
olive oil
salt
pepper
Preparation
Wash the beets and cut off the green stems. Peel the beets and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Place the beets in separate glass roasting pans. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and ground pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. Place all of the beets in a serving bowl and enjoy!
I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Gastronomical Sovereignty and Food Trip Friday.
SensitiveEconomist 
I never ate beets until we joined a CSA last year. Agree, the yellow ones are wonderful!!
Gorgeous! Love the vibrant colors. Roasted beets are my favorite way to enjoy the otherwise dirty tasting root.
Come and share your delicious dish with my CSA link party…http://inherchucks.com/2012/08/08/whats-in-the-box-38/. Looking forward to seeing you there 🙂
oh darling! golden beets are one of my most favorite vegetables of all time – i’m so glad you got to try them! they are much more tender than the purple variety and their buttery delicateness is what makes them so special. especially lined up next to the purple ones. i love this 🙂
thank you for taking the time to link up with us at the Wednesday Fresh Foods Blog Hop! We hope to see you again this Wednesday with more fantastic seasonal & real food posts 🙂 xo, kristy
I have not seen golden beets too. But I would try to look for it tomorrow at the farmers market. Thanks for the recipe.
Kim,USA
I hope you find them at the farmer’s market, Kim. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Cute color combination, it looks like sweet potato. happy ftf, this is my ftf entry, granadillas juice
looks delicious..:)
Food Trip Friday…Chocolate Chip Cookies
I hope I could try to eat beets too.. love the color combination of both beets- looks so appetizing!