Home grown vegetables make life so much better; sadly, I haven't had much time to get to the Farmer's Market this summer (thank goodness for my sister's abundant garden). But, I finally did this past weekend. My mission was to get fresh vegetables to make pizza. The next thing I knew I was stocking up on heirloom tomatoes like they were going outta style, and a bag of beets found its way into my stash! W. was none too happy that he had to put up with the Market crowd AND my speed walking. (He claims my pace quickens when I find a store I’ve been looking for, or get excited about something while shopping). Of course, in the end, he Loved the pizza, with a capital L.
But, back to roasted beets. I love beets. I’ll eat them in anything, even alone. I was at my parent’s house for dinner one night and my mother made a beet salad. We were chatting about the beautiful red and gold beets, and she told me that she cooked them herself. What? But they were so soft, not like the time I tried to make beet chips and almost sliced off a finger because the dang things are rock hard. So, she told me how easy it was, and I knew I had to buy me some beets.
How to roast beets to add to a salad, as a side dish , or even in a soup.
1. Wash the beets, root, leaves and all. They need a little scrubbing down, like a potato, to really get the dirt off.
2. Trim off the root and leaves (you can even eat beet greens – Mom threw them in our salad).
3. Place beets on tinfoil (with the skin on) and toss generously in olive oil.
4. Wrap up tinfoil so no air can escape
5. Bake beets for 45-60 minutes at 400 degrees. Pierce with a fork to check for tenderness, once the fork pierces them easily, like it would a potato, they are done.
6. Allow beets to cool
7. Rub skin off with your hands
8. Chop beets to your liking and add to any recipe you want!
But, back to roasted beets. I love beets. I’ll eat them in anything, even alone. I was at my parent’s house for dinner one night and my mother made a beet salad. We were chatting about the beautiful red and gold beets, and she told me that she cooked them herself. What? But they were so soft, not like the time I tried to make beet chips and almost sliced off a finger because the dang things are rock hard. So, she told me how easy it was, and I knew I had to buy me some beets.
How to roast beets to add to a salad, as a side dish , or even in a soup.
1. Wash the beets, root, leaves and all. They need a little scrubbing down, like a potato, to really get the dirt off.
2. Trim off the root and leaves (you can even eat beet greens – Mom threw them in our salad).
3. Place beets on tinfoil (with the skin on) and toss generously in olive oil.
4. Wrap up tinfoil so no air can escape
5. Bake beets for 45-60 minutes at 400 degrees. Pierce with a fork to check for tenderness, once the fork pierces them easily, like it would a potato, they are done.
6. Allow beets to cool
7. Rub skin off with your hands
8. Chop beets to your liking and add to any recipe you want!