Beet Rosti With Rosemary
Yield 4 servings
Time 30 minutes
Mark Bittman

Summary
Keep the heat moderate — cooking too quickly will burn the sugary outside of the pancake while leaving the inside raw. And don’t forget to wear an apron when you're grating the beets.

Ingredients
2 pounds beets (3 very large or 4 to 6 medium)
2 teaspoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons butter
Minced parsley or a few rosemary leaves for garnish

Method
1. Trim beets, and peel them as you would potatoes; grate them in food processor or by hand. Begin preheating 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat.

2. Toss grated beets in bowl with rosemary, salt and pepper. Add about half the flour; toss well, add rest of flour, and toss again.

3. Put butter in skillet; heat until it begins to turn nut-brown. Scrape beet mixture into skillet, and press with spatula to form a round. With medium to medium-high heat -- the pancake should gently sizzle -- cook, shaking pan occasionally, until bottom of cake is nicely crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Slide cake onto a plate, top with another plate, invert the two plates, and return cake to pan. Keep cooking, adjusting heat if necessary, until other side is browned, another 10 minutes or so.

Garnish, cut into wedges, and serve hot or at room temperature.

Source: The New York Times

2 recipe notes from Ken MacDonald - you can add up to 1/2 quantity of other root veg instead of all beets - potato, turnip, rutabaga.... also, a little
bit of thyme is a nice addition.

Wash beets. Rub with canola oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in a roasting pan. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 45 minutes, on until a knife can easly go through center of beet. Remove the skins by rubbing with a paper towel or rubbing off with fingers. Then slice and serve warm, plain or tossed with butter and vinegar. Or
chill beets and layer on top of greens. Dress with vinaigrette, and sprinkle with toasted nuts, and blue or goat cheese.

Double Dark Chocolate Beet Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup beet puree*
2/3 cup buttermilk (or 2/3 cup milk mixed with about 1 tsp vinegar)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper cups. In a large bowl, whisk together first 5 ingredients until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips; set aside. In a small saucepan, melt the other 2/3 cup chocolate chips and butter over very low heat. Stir to combine and set aside to cool until lukewarm. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, brown sugar, beet puree, buttermilk, vanilla and melted chocolate. Pour the chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Don’t over mix. Immediately spoon batter into muffin tin. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Muffins are done when they spring back when touched lightly in the center (or when a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean). Cool muffins for 10 minutes in pan then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

* To prepare beets: Cut off the greens leaving about one inch attached. Don’t cut anything off the root end. Gently scrub the beets being careful not to cut the skin. In a medium saucepan, cover beets with water, bring to a gentle boil and cook, covered, 30-45 minutes until tender. Drain and let sit until cool enough to handle. The tops should pull off easily or they can be cut off. The skins will slip right off. Puree beets with a little bit of the cooking liquid in a food processor until they are the consistency of applesauce.