We love beets and this year Bill planted both the red and golden varieties. This recipe from Canadian Living’s Best Vegetables pairs this sweet and colourful vegetable with onions that have been slowly cooked in sugar and vinegar until they caramelize. The recipe suggests boiling the beets, but I prefer to wrap them in foil and bake them for an hour or so in a 400-degree oven until they are tender. Once they are cooked, cool them slightly and then rub them with a paper towel to remove the skins. You can refrigerate the cooked beets until ready to proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Cooked golden and red beets

Cook the onions slowly until they caramelize

Caramelized beets and onions

To avoid additives and preservatives in this recipe, use a red wine vinegar with no sulfites added or with naturally occuring sulfites. I used Eden Organic brand.

Ingredients:

6 large beets

4 tsp butter

3 onions, sliced

2 tbsp granulated sugar

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 tbsp water

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

Preparation:

In large pot of boiling water, cook beets for about 40 minutes until tender (or bake, according to the directions above). Drain and let cool slightly. Rub skins off with a paper towel and cut the beets into sticks.

In a large non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium heat; cook onions, stirring often, for 7 to 10 minutes or until light golden. Sprinkle with sugar and vinegar; reduce heat to low and cook for about 20 minutes or until tender and golden.

Add beets to onions along with water, salt and pepper; heat over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes or until heated through. Serves 4.

From Canadian Living’s Best Vegetables