As November comes to a close, serve one last bright meal that channels summer and casts away the soon-to-be-winter chill. Beets are not only pretty, but this versatile root vegetable can be easily thrown into a quick salad.

When shopping, choose beets that are firm and have smooth skin. Small or medium-sized beets are often more tender, while their color can range from a garnet red to white.

Serve a Beet and Apple Salad (pictured above) from Food Network Magazine as an easy starter. Apples and sugar give this dish a natural sweetness, while endive and walnuts add some crunch.

Try Giada’s five-star-rated Beet and Goat Cheese Arugula Salad. The key to sublime flavor is roasting the beets in the oven so the shallot and honey vinaigrette drizzled on top can soak in.

Light and refreshing, Michael Chiarello’s Roasted Beet, Onion and Orange Salad is an instant hit. Pearl onions and toasted hazelnuts add just the right amount of texture to this beet salad.

Talk to us: What’s your favorite way to eat beets? Tell us in the comments or join the conversation on Twitter at #cookingwith.

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