December 2, 2007
View Comments | Post CommentRoasted Baby Beets
Roasting beets is a great way to concentrate the natural sweetness of the beets without comprising their earthiness. If you roast them for the correct period of time, you can peel off the skins easily--sometimes it will slide right off in a single piece. If you're careful when peeling them, you can even pull the skin off of the delicate little tails, which makes for a really nice presentation. Oh, and save the beet greens. They can be sauteed just like any other greens.
Roasted Baby Beets
Roasted baby beets are 1-4 bites each, depending on the size of the baby beets. Make as many as you want. Full-size beets can be substituted, but increase roasting time accordingly. Total time: 45 minutes.The ingredients:
Baby beets (usually sold 4 per bunch), as many as you need.
Olive oil
Kosher salt
The algorithm:
Wash the beets, then cut off the tops of the beets (the side that would point up when they are in the ground--the side with the greens) flat, so that the beets can sit flat on that side. Brush the beets with olive oil (including the tails) and sit them in a pan on some foil. Roast at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until skins loosen and beets are somewhat tender. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for ten minutes.
Once cooled, slide skins off beets. If they won't just slide off, peel them with your fingers. Peel the little tails on the beets, too, but be careful with the tails so you don't break them. They make for a nice presentation, but they might have become brittle during roasting, so keep as much of them as possible.
Before serving, brush them with a bit of oil again, sprinkle them with salt, and put them back into the hot oven for 5 minutes.
Posted by Barzelay at December 2, 2007 12:42 AM | Comments (0) | Veggies, Fruit, Grain, Cheese
