Golden Beets

Know this

Golden beets carry the same earthy sugar as a red beet, they just skip the betacyanin that turns your hands, your board and every other thing on the plate pink. That is the whole case for them. Buy them in a bunch with the tops still on and standing up, not flopped over the side of the crate: limp greens mean the root has been out of the ground long enough to go woody in the middle. The chef secret: cut those greens off about an inch above the crown the minute you get home, before you put anything away. Leave them attached and they keep drinking moisture out of the root all week, and a beet that has gone spongy never roasts right. Store the roots in a bag in the crisper, cook the greens like chard that night.

Cook

Roast them whole and unpeeled at 400, wrapped in foil with a splash of water in the packet so they steam as much as they roast. 45 to 60 minutes depending on size, and they are done when a paring knife goes in with no resistance. While they are still warm the skins slip off under a folded paper towel, no peeler, no mess.

Season

June into October, peak in late summer.

Best pairings

Goat cheese · Orange · Dill · Pistachio · Sherry vinegar · Fennel

Also worth trying: horseradish, walnut, arugula, ricotta salata, thyme, brown butter, honey, mint, shallot, blood orange, hazelnut, crème fraîche.

Recommended wine