Simple Roasted Beets

[kirra]

Simple Roasted Beets
Chef Dave Martin

Ingredients:

6 medium sized beets, washed, peeled and left whole (red, gold or various colors are ideal, but work with what you have available)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Aluminum foil

Preparation:

After peeling the beets, coat them lightly with olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper. Wrap the beets in individual foil wrappers like little packages, making sure that the whole beet is covered up.

Place the packages on a sheet tray/cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven and roast them for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. If the beets are super small they will roast much quicker so keep your eyes on them and adjust the timing accordingly. I have found that with medium to large-sized beets, they should come out perfectly if you use the time line above. The test is taking a sharp paring knife and testing to see if it slides right through the beet similar to the way you test potatoes.

Once cooked properly, remove from the oven, leave them in the foil and allow them to cool. As the steam in the foil can be very hot, be careful. Once the beets have cooled, remove from the foil and slice them into ¼ – 1/2 inch slices. Sometimes the bottom of the beet gets really caramelized, so double check to make sure it doesn’t taste burnt in flavor before using it in your salad.

These beets can be used for just snacking or finish them off with a lite vinaigrette and some greens along with a sprinkle of bleu cheese and nutmeg cashews. If you never liked beets because they were always from a can, give these a try and you might change your tune.