On this day, stay sanguine with a food that bleeds the color of love

Pity the poor beet on Valentine’s Day. It’s not sexy like champagne, nor decadent like chocolate. It’s not an aphrodisiac like oysters or asparagus. A beet is an ugly, hard, confounding vegetable, overlooked in the heat of passion, undereaten in a fast-food nation.

Yet the beet bleeds the color of love. At heart – the organ it most resembles – the beet is a noble vegetable, used by the Greeks for medicinal purposes and enjoyed by the Romans as a culinary treat. In later years, the beet came into its own as a source of sugar. When Napoleon was cut off from sugar cane supplies during war, he ordered 70,000 acres to be planted with beets.

The good news for contemporary eaters is that the beet is rich in antioxidants and may lower cholesterol. Richly tucked into that dense, veiny orb are B vitamin folate, manganese and potassium. But the gifts don’t stop there. Look to the beet for dietary fiber, vitamin C, magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorous. If you eat the leaves, add iron, calcium and trace minerals.

Although the crimson version is best-known, the beet has changed colors through the years. Gold, orange, white and candy-striped varieties fill end-of-season boxes at farmers markets, especially here in Maine, where the soil and climate are hospitable to the root’s needs.

Many home-cooks avoid the beet because of the misconception that it is difficult to prepare. Nonsense! Boiled, baked, steamed, microwaved or – who knew? – served raw, the beet is truly an adaptable and delicious contributor to any meal. Citrus splashes and vinegar bring out its hidden savory nature. Meats and creams emphasize its honey qualities. In a salad of roasted walnuts and chevre, beets are the star. The United States is one of the leading producers of beets, making them available and tasty year round.

Some recipes recommend wearing gloves when handling the beet so that the oozing red doesn’t stain the cook’s skin. We say embrace these earthy tattoos. Wear them with honor. Not to be off-color, but don’t worry either if, after a beet-fest, you notice a pinkish hue to your urine. No need for alarm. That’s the beet’s own special effect: a condition known as beeturia. What other vegetable can claim a titular medical term?

So celebrate the beet today. Let it be your Valentine vegetable.

If you don’t like cooked beets, eating raw beets may sound unappealing. But this salad may change your mind forever.

Raw Beet Salad with Apples

Serves 4.

1/4 cup yogurt

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Small bunch beets, about 3/4 pound, trimmed and peeled

1 sweet, crisp apple

1 tablespoon toasted hazelnuts, walnuts or pecans, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped chives

Salt and pepper to taste

A handful of watercress

In a small bowl, mix yogurt, mustard and vinegar. Set aside. Grate beets by hand using the second-largest hole on a four-sided grater or using the grating attachment on a food processor. Place in mixing bowl. Core apple but do not peel. Cut into 1/2-inch cubes and add to beets. Add hazelnuts and chives. Season with salt and pepper. Add yogurt dressing and mix well. Taste for seasoning. To serve, put watercress at the end of a small oval platter and spoon out salad onto the platter.

GREENS KEEPERS: Buy beets with greens still attached. Look for crisp, fresh leaves. High in vitamin A, they make a good substitute for spinach and can be prepared the same way.

STALK OPTION: Beets store well up to a few weeks in the crisper drawer and longer in a root cellar. Maine is a beet-growing state, so ask local farmers if they have left from late summer crops.

THE BEET OF THE MATTER: Add fresh horseradish to a beet salad or canned beets to pickled hard-boiled eggs for a taste of Eastern European traditions.