Roasted Beets

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner

I love beets in any fashion. This summer, my beet crop wasn't the best but last year I had so many that I canned jars of pickled beets and they were oh, so tasty. Many people think they don't like beets probably because they have only been exposed to commercially canned harvard beets. We've served fresh from the garden beets to dinner guests who were stunned at the sweet flavor of the real thing.

Last night, I took a roasted beet dish to a pot luck and it was a hit. The usual comments were heard: I forget about beets or I love beets but don't know how to cook fresh ones.  I came home from the farmers' market with two huge bunches of fresh beets for $3 and went to work.

Whenever I cook fresh beets, I remember Grandma Washburn telling me to leave 2" of the stems and roots attached to each beet so that the color doesn't drain out while cooking. So just like Grandma said, I trimmed all the beets, washed them, and put them on a large sheet of heavy aluminum foil in a single layer.

Next I added a handful of fresh thyme from the garden, four garlic cloves unpeeled and drizzled with olive oil and tossed.  I closed the foil around the beets, put on a baking sheet and into a 400 degree oven.

An hour later, I removed the foil packet, opened it and let the beets cool. Then under running water--this keeps your hands from turning red--I easily slipped the skins from the beets, cut off the root and top, and cut into chunks about 1" in diameter.  I squeezed the garlic cloves to remove the cooked garlic, chopped into a small dice and added to a serving bowl with the beets.

I tossed the cleaned beets with salt, pepper, 2 T olive oil, 1 T balsamic vinegar (the vinegar brings out the sugar in the beets) and just before serving, I added 1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese.

Another favorite roasted beet recipe that I love is to add the roasted and cleaned beets to the food processor with salt, pepper and a couple of tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and puree.  The gorgeous, red puree is a terrific color and taste addition to the dinner plate.