Beets – people either love ’em or hate ’em. I happen to love them, while other people think they taste like dirt. I actually kind of get that, but I still love them. They taste fresh, hearty, and healthy, and have such a great, vibrant color. When I finally learned a good method to cook and peel beets (included below) that eliminated the frustration of waiting for them to finish roasting in the oven (they always seemed to take 5 times longer than any recipe would direct) and minimized the stained clothes and hands, I became even more interested in finding dishes that incorporated the veggie. This is a recipe for roasted and mashed beets with sweet potato and apple, and it hits on all the points I mentioned. With its vibrant color, this would be a lovely side dish for a Valentine’s Day dinner.

Reality Check. I intended to draft a sentence or two about this dish being a healthy, low carb alternative to a potato side dish, and then I did a little fact checking. Yeah, beets are very much not low in carbs.

 Recipe
Mashed Beets with Sweet Potato and Apple
(Recipe adapted from Forest Feast)

Ingredients:
3 beets
1 sweet potato
1 apple
2 tablespoons butter (or olive oil)
1/3 cup Greek yogurt
3 scallions
olive oil and sea salt to taste

Directions:
Cook the beets. You can roast or grill them, but my favorite method is as follows:
Trim the beets, leaving about 1 inch of the tops on and rootlets intact. Place each beet on a square of foil and drizzle with about 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil. Bring the corners of the foil up around the beets and twist to seal. Repeat with the remaining beets. Put the wrapped beets in a slow cooker, cover, and cook on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, or until the beets are tender. When they’re cool enough to handle but still warm, remove the foil, trim ends of the beets and, using a paper towel, slip the skins off – they should come off easily. Cube and set aside to add to the potato and apple.

Peel and cube the apple and potato and toss lightly in olive oil and sea salt; roast at 450 degrees for 30 minutes or until tender. Add the beets for the last several minutes of roasting.

Mash with the butter (or olive oil) and Greek yogurt. Garnish with scallions and sea salt.