Beet Bonanza

In a recent CSA box, I got a really nice bunch of beets, greens and all. Now, I come from a Scandinavian, beet eating family, but I myself have never been a beet lover. I've never really been sure if that was because I'm just not into pickled beets, or canned beets (I never remember seeing an actual raw beet). So, I figured that this was the time to find out.

My plan was to use both the beets themselves and the beet greens in separate dishes. I found a good looking basic recipe to start from, got a few additional ideas, and went from there.

The beets themselves:
-beets, peeled and sliced (I had 4 beets total)
-olive oil
-fresh chopped rosemary
-salt/pepper
-crumbled feta

Preheat the oven to 350. Toss the beet slices (being careful not to turn yourself and everything around you purple) in the olive oil and chopped rosemary, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until a knife goes easily through, and the edges are nicely caramelized, about 25 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle with feta.

The greens:
-olive oil (1 tbsp)
-chopped beet greens from your beets
-1/4 chopped small onion
-2 cloves garlic, chopped
-small amount balsamic vinegar

When the beets are nearly done, heat the olive oil in a pan, brown the onion and garlic, and then put in the greens, stirring until wilted. Turn off the heat, and sprinkle with a few drops of balsamic vinegar.

The chicken:
The chicken isn't really the focus of this post, but in case you're curious, I put 2 thawed chicken breasts into a ziplock bag with some chopped rosemary, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper, and marinated for about 2 hours. Then, I put it on the grill while the beets were roasting.

I have mixed reviews on this- the recipes themselves were good- I liked the greens a lot, and the rosemary and feta really complimented the sweetness of the beets. Unfortunately, I still think I don't like beets- they're just too sweet for me. But, if you do like them, I think this is a unique take and a nice flavor combination.