Instructions: On the face of it, beets are extroverts. Their very veins run magenta, red and gold. The roots come from the same high palette.

When the hue is purple or red, which it so often is, then they are not just flamboyant, but inky as an angry octopus. and yet for all this personality, beets are among the most neglected vegetables in the market. Their reputation is 50 years out of date. People grumble of beet fatigue from World War II Victory Gardens.

Others think of beets as canned items. Then theres the mess. Boil them and the beets stain your hands, your cutting board, your clothes.

No splendor is perfect. But before writing off the beet, bake it.

Its color seems to retreat within it, becoming even more saturated, yet more beautiful. Once youve tasted a baked beet, its hard to have them any other way. It is one of the most arresting flavors to come from the field. Its sweetness is surpassed only by sugar cane, but then this sweetness is countered by a profound and complex earthiness.

Summed up in a suffix, beets are "-er": brighter, sweeter, stronger, darker.

This intensity makes it tricky to move on to the beets crowning grace, which is - dont scoff - great subtlety. Faced with other ingredients, beets have a wholly magical tact. They are a superb foil.

There is no more accommodating food. Beets complement almost every ingredient that any cook from anywhere can throw at them.

Give it a try. Bake an entire panful. Wash them if theyre cruddy.

Cut them about an inch above the stem so the pigment doesnt run. If theyre medium-size, pop them in the oven at about 375 degrees for an hour and a half.

There will be a sweet, toasty almost nutty aroma wafting around the kitchen when theyre done.

You can test for doneness much as you would with a boiled potato, by sticking something sharp into the beets and deciding if thats the resistance you find palatable (the beet itself is edible raw). Let them cool. Store the ones youre not going to eat, unpeeled, in plastic containers in the fridge.

Peel the ones you are going to use. The skins should come away fairly easily, if not slipping right off like breezy cookery writers swear they do. First, put them warm or at room temperature in a salad with toasted walnuts, goat cheese, mache and orange. See what happens.

Exactly. The walnuts will never taste nuttier, the "chevre" never tangier and orange never fruitier.

Vegans use beets in lieu of meat; carnivores use them as pungent garnishes for beef. They go equally well with dill, parsley, chervil, tarragon or chives.

You can bake them like potatoes, serve them slit and buttered. If youre hungry and want a fast fix and dont mind the mess, all beets require to constitute a meal are boiling, peeling and, if youre feeling fancy, the addition of salt and pepper.

Theyre that good.

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