This “Good Dish” column originally appeared in the Jan. 6, 2022 Inquirer and Mirror.

As we kick off the new year, I haven’t noticed the usual array of resolution-driven fad diets being bandied about in the media. Instead, seemingly popular healthyish themes for 2022 appear to be promoting abstaining from drinking alcohol for what is now dubbed Dry January and vowing to eat more plant-based foods.

I have nothing against either practice, though I absolutely refuse to make or buy plant-based foods that are intended to mimic the taste of meat. I’d far rather limit myself to indulging in a really fabulous Wagyu burger a few times a year when a random craving strikes then pretend to enjoy the trademarked Impossible Burger, listing scary hard-to-pronounce ingredients such as methylcellulose, cultured dextrose, leghemoglobin and mixed tocopherols.

The challenge in eating a more plant-based diet beginning in January on Nantucket is that this is the month when the Gray Lady is at its bleakest shade of gray and the lush island-grown produce we are accustomed to devouring throughout the summer months is either a fond memory from last August or something to anticipate six months down the road.

If rib-sticking winter standbys like pot roast and spaghetti and meatballs are going to be frowned upon this particular January, then we most definitely need to seek out plant-based fare that lends cheerful color to our plates as an antidote to being surrounded by a pervasively gray landscape.

Citrus fruit, of course, is in season and always an excellent winter pick-me-up, but finding the equivalent in the vegetable world can be a more difficult task.

While I’ve long been a beet aficionado, perhaps because this gnarly root vegetable has the potential to impart a very pleasing vibrant pink hue to certain preparations and crimson red to others, I’m now looking to beet cookery to brighten my plant-based undertakings this month.

Years before plant-based dishes began trending, Nantucket’s Le Languedoc Bistro was offering a unique Beet Tartare preparation on its appetizer menu. To this day, the Beet Tartare remains a staple on the menu and I always order it when dining in the restaurant and chef Neil Grennan graciously shared his recipe with me for publication in my “New England Open House Cookbook” (Workman, 2015).

Obviously the flavors in the recipe were inspired by the classic French Beef Tartare, but trust me when I say you won’t miss the beef in this vegetable tartare in the way an Impossible Burger makes you long for a return to real red meat.

Beets also make a great addition to many winter salads. If you do not wish to fuss with roasting your beets by the method I’ve detailed in the Beet Tartare recipe, many grocery stores now sell packaged and refrigerated pre-cooked beets that are a good convenience item to keep on hand. Just be sure to steer clear of canned beets, as their flavor, texture and color are inferior.

Beet salad combinations are numerous, but a recent “upbeet” hit to ring in the New Year in my house combined roasted beets with mixed baby greens, dried cranberries, glazed walnuts and crumbled Feta cheese.

Le Languedoc Bistro’s Beet Tartare

 This method of roasting beets wrapped individually in foil is my favorite method of cooking beets and can be used any time you want to add freshly-roasted beets to a recipe. Julia Child recommended a similar method but liked to add a drizzle of olive oil and splash of red wine to each beet: an excellent idea if you are not observing Dry January.

4 medium-size red beets, tops and stems discarded and dirt scrubbed from the skins

1 shallot, finely minced (about 2 tablespoons)

1 tablespoon brine-packed capers, drained and coarsely chopped

5 cornichons, drained and finely chopped

1-1/2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives

A few drops Tabasco or other hot sauce, to taste

Approximately 1 tablespoon mayonnaise, homemade or Hellmann’s

Sea salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste

         Serves 6 to 8.

Beet Salad with Baby Greens, Walnuts and Feta Cheese

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, imported from France

1 clove garlic, grated on a microplane

5 ounces arugula, watercress or mixed baby greens

1-1/2 cups thinly-sliced cooked beets

1/2 cup coarsely-chopped toasted or glazed walnuts

Sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

         Serves 4 to 6.

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