Beet

Sauté any remaining greens from the beets to serve on the side with the lentils with port-glazed shallots . A Moulin-à-Vent is the wine of choice; purchased cheesecake topped with cherries marinated in brandy and sugar is a scrumptious finale.

Gorgonzola cheese adds zip to this salad.

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr

If you can't get sorrel at your local market, arugula leaves or large basil leaves are a good alternative.

Chlodnik Polish cooks serve this soup (pronounced "hu-WOHD-neek") as a cooling first course for summer meals. It's a delicious alternative to gazpacho.

Though fresh horseradish is in season around Easter, you can substitute drained bottled horseradish. We recommend using the cooked beets left over from the pickled quail egg recipe , but if you're not making the eggs, you can substitute canned beets.

Early in this century, fresh meat became a staple on many American tables. But old methods of flavoring and preserving beef-corning, for instance, which involved brining the meat with spices-remained popular. Often in New England, leftover corned beef simmered with vegetables would be chopped up and transformed into red flannel hash, so called because of the crimson color beets gave to the dish.

Pour a chilled dry Gewürztraminer to accompany the salad and offer crusty bread throughout dinner.

Vinegar and mustard give the dressing in this salad an assertive flavor that contrasts nicely with the sweetness of the beets.

The colorful salad makes a delightful first course, or it can be enjoyed as a side dish with grilled London broil.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 25 min

The delicate beet greens — which are an excellent source of potassium, folic acid, and magnesium — make this dish even more healthful.

Stir-frying--an unorthodox technique for red flannel hash--yields a dish whose components are crisp and separate rather than melded into a cake, as is traditional. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.