Beets with Yogurt

Understandably, the farmers' market tends to taper off through the winter with a reduced showing of both vendors and patrons. But this winter has been an exception; the market never had the ghost town feel of winters past. In fact, today there were enough patrons that we parked on the street, something that's usually completely unnecessary from December through late March or April.

Optimists like me see full aisles at the market as a sign that people are thinking more about what kind of food they choose to consume and to what part of the economy they'd like for their money to support.

Eating from the market doesn't have to involve strenuous preparation. One of my favorite new dishes is from one of my favorite new cookbooks, Arabesque. It's not a good beginners cookbook - the recipes assume a certain level of comfort in the kitchen. But if you pick it up and have prep questions, feel free to send me an email or post a comment.

On this recipe, the roasting takes time but the rest of the work is relatively quick and simple - you could easily store the yogurt and prepped, dressed beets separately and eat the dish throughout the week.

Beets with Yogurt

2 lb beets, scrubbed and stems trimmed to 1/4 inch
2 clove garlic; crushed
2 cup Greek-style yogurt; strained (Some grocery stores carry this now - it's less tangy than traditional yogurt but any kind will do).
2 tablespoon lemon juice (fresh is best)
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup parsley; chopped

Preheat oven to 400.

Put scrubbed beets in foil packet and roast until tender, one to three hours depending on size.

When cool enough to handle and wearing gloves (unless you love having pink hands), rub beets with a paper towel to remove the peel, then slice into 1/2 inch-thick rounds or half-moons.

Beat garlic into yogurt and spread on serving plate. Top with beets. Beat
together juice, oil and a little salt and drizzle on top. Sprinkle with
parsley.

**For a Lebanese variation, beat 1 1/2 Tb tahini into yogurt.

Yield: 8 servings