Baking beets tenderizes them without getting them waterlogged as boiling tends to do. If possible it is beet to make the salad and let it sit at room temperature for about a 30 minutes or longer to further mingle the flavours.

As oppose to simply boiling the beets until tender, here is in my opinion a method to cook beets which produces a greater intensity of flavour. If you like to steam beets, they will need to be cooked a tad longer to become tender in comparison to the other two cooking methods.

Preheat oven to 400F. Wash beets well of dirt and cut off stems (use in beet green pasta!). Put the beets in a baking dish with a ½ cup of water or so and cover them with foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes to 1 hour (the younger they are the quicker they tend to cook). The beets are done with a knife can easily pierce the beets. Allow to cool and peel the beets. Cut off the tops and bottoms, if necessary. Note: Any red beets will start to colour the other beets unless they are dressed separately, so if you would like the beets to remain they nice colour/ pattern keep them separate after peeling and cutting. Cut the baby beets into halves or quarters. From this point on any of the following combinations can be made into salads. The ingredients are listed but in general, quantities are not as the vinaigrettes should be made to taste at a ratio of 2:1 or 3:1 oil to vinegar. However, sometimes due to their sweetness beets can handle much more acidity, so, if more vinegar is felt to be needed, simply do so until a desired happy taste is reached.

Beets, canola oil, sherry vinegar, minced ginger (ie. 1 tbsp per pound of beets, or to taste), salt and pepper, chopped chive.

Chioga beets, white wine vinegar, finely chopped shallots, thinly sliced fennel, watercress or garden cress.

beets, balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, finely chopped shallots, toasted walnuts or hazelnuts, fresh goat’s cheese

beets, sherry or cider vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, finely grated orange zest, finely chopped tarragon and/or mint, with a touch of finely minced garlic if desired.