Try This Modernized Harvard Beets Recipe

What do you do with a beet the size of a softball? I received one in my Spud order a couple of weeks ago and it has been sitting in my crisper ever since because I wasn’t quite sure what I would do with it. Often, when my beets are small, I just steam or boil them, skin them and eat them with some salt and pepper. I will also peel them, roll them in avocado oil and roast them along with some carrots for a tasty roasted vegetable treat. I love cooked beets. I am not a fan of raw grated ones because I find them to taste too earthy for my liking. This monster beet made me think about a recipe I used to make years ago when my kids were little – Harvard beets –  and so I decided to recreate it with some healthier ingredients.

Here is my version of Harvard Beets:

Harvard Beets

Ingredients

1 lb of beets (or in my case, one massive beet)

For the Sauce

½ cup of reserved beet water

½ cup maple syrup

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

1 T. tapioca flour

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Steam or boil unpeeled beets until they are cooked through (use a sharp knife to test doneness),

While beets are cooking, in a small saucepan, add tapioca flour to apple cider vinegar and stir until flour is dissolved. To that, add the maple syrup and set aside until beets are cooked then add ½ cup of the beet water to the mixture. While beets are cooling to the point that you can peel them, cook the maple syrup mixture until it thickens and clarifies indicating that the tapioca is fully cooked.

Peel the beets (skins will slip off easily from warm cooked beets) and dice them. Add them to the warm maple syrup mixture and reheat all until hot. Season to taste with salt and pepper.