The candy of the vegetable world, beets’ high sugar content gives them a natural sweetness that pairs well with slightly bitter or acidic tastes that temper their sugar, like kale and wine. This dish takes advantage of their affinity and showcases their regal colors to delicious effect.

Back in December, I was obsessed with SweetGreen’s salad of the month. It was a mix of mesclun, butternut squash, cauliflower, sunflower seeds, roasted turkey and a cranberry vinaigrette. But what really kept me coming back was that it was topped with crispy spicy kale. Even though the kale was the last and least abundant ingredient in the salad, it’s delicately crunchy texture and salty, spicy flavor was my favorite part. While kale can be a complement to a salad, it can just as easily be the featured part of a dish, or a main side. With this in mind, we reached out to those in the D.C. restaurant scene to explore the many ways you can cook up this seasonal green.