Beet

Cooked beets, flaked salmon, and an array of crunchy vegetables crown a bed of spicy horseradish yogurt in this hearty salad.

“This is my all-time favorite beet dish,” writes cookbook author Nisha Vora.

Many recipes for this Eastern European condiment tame the horseradish—calling for twice as many beets as the fiery root—but this chrain recipe flips the script.

This red velvet cake recipe uses beets to give the cake its supernaturally silken texture and a deep crimson hue.

The rice dish pongal is very dear to Tamil people. This combination isn’t traditional, but the thing is, pongal is just fantastic with bright Sri Lankan pickles and a soft-boiled egg.

This beet-tahini dip starts off sweet, then gets a little spicy.

Sharp and sweet, rhubarb and beets were made for one another, and this soup is a fitting celebration of their union.

It’s a shame you don't often spot people grilling carrots, because they also grill beautifully, developing a char that balances out their sweetness.

Carrot cake, but with beets—and the dreamiest frosting of all.

Packed full of a rainbow of colors, flavors, and textures, from spiced paneer, chickpeas, and tomatoes to roasted beets, sweet potatoes, and a citrusy coconut and cilantro sauce this is a vegetable dish for special occasions.

The combination of beets and ginger gives you a great spectrum of flavors, while crunchy toasted cashews and a mess of crispy sunchoke chips lend contrasting texture.

In this recipe, beets are cooked in two separate batches: One batch is used to make “beet water,” a kind of rich beet stock, and the other batch is cooked and grated. This two-step process gives the borscht its distinct taste and depth of flavor.

The literal translation of the name of this drink is “the Virgin’s tears,” as the red color of the beets resembles tears of blood said to have been shed by the Virgin Mary. This beverage originated in the state of Guanajuato, maybe as long ago as the end of the sixteenth century. I found a few different variations, but this one seemed to be the most common, and it’s quite special. Although this beverage is customarily prepared during Lent for the festivities of Friday of Sorrows (the Friday before Good Friday), it’s a wonderful drink during fall, when beets and apples abound. This recipe makes a large batch to share at your next gathering.

Beets can stand up to a hard roast and plenty of spice. Their sweet earthiness and firm texture mean they’re ideal for making meatless chorizo. If beets aren’t your thing, any sweet root vegetable will work.

Crisp the vegetables up after they've had a chance to soak up the marinade—or don't, they’re delicious at room temperature, or even served cold.