My siblings and I always liked “beet day” in elementary school. None of the kids ate beets and we made a killing as we gobbled up all the beets from our classmate’s school lunch trays. This recipe is the reason we liked our beets. Mother’s side of the family comes from a little textile-producing town just west of Warsaw, Poland. She always made these “Polish Beets” the way her Babcia did. We love them and hope you do as well. They make a beautiful addition to a Christmas table. -E

Polish Beets

Ingredients:
2 (15- oz.) cans cut beets, drained and chopped
1 1/2 tsp. flour
1 T. bacon fat
2-3 T. sour cream
1 1/2 T. granulated sugar
2 T. white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
coarsely ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Drain beets and add to the food processor. Pulse until roughly chopped. (Approx. 9 pulses)
2. In a large saucepan, combine flour with bacon fat to make a roux. Stir 2-3 minutes to eliminate the starchy taste of the flour.
3. Stir in sour cream. Once well blended, add the chopped beets.
4. Season to taste with sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper. Can adjust to your family’s individual taste.

Notes:
Yield: 3 cups. Best served immediately.
I remember Mother saying that Babcia always ground her beets with a meat grinder. I think she did this to avoid chopping them by hand as they didn’t have food processors in the 1910s. Who wants purple fingers anyways?

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