Glazed Golden Beets

During a recent trip to Washington DC, I enjoyed an excellent meal at America Eats Tavern, a temporary restaurant showcasing traditional American ingredients and recipes.  From the Cherry Bounce cocktail based on a recipe from Martha Washington to the Bison Tomahawk Steak inspired by Lewis and Clark, everything we tried was top notch. 

Even if you think you’ll never visit the restaurant, the menus are fun to read, telling the story of America through recipes, with a mini history lesson on the origin of each dish. Our server recommended the Harvard Beet Salad, saying it was one of the most popular items. Supposedly, the recipe was named after the crimson school color of Harvard. Regardless of academic allegiance, Harvard Beets were elegant in their simplicity, and really quite delicious.

The menu cited the 1906 edition of The Boston Cooking School Cook Book by Fannie Farmer as the source for Harvard Beets. Fortunately, the Google eBook is available online. The surprise ingredient, cornstarch, lends body and gloss to the sauce, a blend of sugar and cornstarch cooked in vinegar, enriched with a bit of butter.   

I’ve been making Harvard Beets at home following the 1906 recipe, though I’ve been using golden beets and making a smaller batch to accommodate a single bunch of beets.  It's a root vegetable cliché, but these beets taste almost like candy, with an irresistible sweet-tart balance and a buttery finish.

Are you a fan of beets? What's your favorite way to serve them?

Glazed Golden Beets 

(printer-friendly version)

This recipe is adapted from the 1906 recipe for Harvard Beets in The Boston Cooking School Cook Book by Fannie Farmer, which is available as a Google eBook here.  Ms. Farmer suggests cutting the beets into "fancy shapes, using French vegetable cutter," so I dug out my wavy slicer. I've found you can reduce the amount of butter, using just a teaspoon or so, with good results.    

• 1 bunch gold beets (about 1 pound trimmed)
• ¼ cup sugar
• ¾ teaspoon cornstarch
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Remove the beet greens and thoroughly wash the beets.  Line a small roasting or baking pan with foil.  Put the beets in the pan and then cover the pan with foil.  Roast beets in the oven for about 45 to 60 minutes or longer as needed, until the beets are fork-tender. Total cooking time varies. Smaller beets cook faster than larger beets; remove individual beets as they are done. Alternately, cook the beets in boiling water on the stove-top until tender.

Once the cooked beets are cool enough to handle, remove the skins.  Then slice into thin rounds or half-moons, or whatever shape you prefer.  Transfer beets to medium bowl. 

Mix sugar, cornstarch, and vinegar in small sauce pan and still well until cornstarch dissolves.  Bring to boil, and then reduce to simmer.  Continue simmering for about 3 minutes until glaze thickens.

Pour glaze over sliced beets.  Add the butter to the beets and gently stir until butter is melted and glaze evenly coats the beets.  Be sure the glaze has cooled sufficiently before serving.  Garnish if desired with chopped fresh parsley.

Makes about 4 servings.

Nutrition facts per serving: 101 calories, 1 g protein, 3 g fat, 7.5 mg cholesterol, 49 mg sodium, 2 g fiber