Roasted Beet Salad
If you are a gardener, you know that beets can be in "over-supply" in the summertime, they could even be combined into the "zucchini" category when it comes to deciding what to do with all of these, right? If you aren't a gardener, check out your local farmers market for an ample supply of these amazing summertime vegetables! Beets are also one of those veggies that has a long list of nutritional benefits, so you can't go wrong!
My favorite way to prepare beets is roasting. Back in the day, boiling was the only cooking method I was familiar with for beets, but as vegetables become more prominent in my menu planning, I discovered the magic of roasting. When I'm asked how I roast my vegetables, the answer is always the same, 400 degrees, olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper. For everything! How did you cook that asparagus? What did you do to those sweet potatoes? Best cauliflower I've ever had, how did you do that? The answer is always the same, 400 degrees, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roasting brings out a pop of flavor that provides such a nice variety from the common cooking methods of steaming, microwaving, boiling, and stir-frying, I could go on and on about roasting but saving that for a future post, so for now lets get back to this amazing beet salad.
The smaller size beets, about golf ball size, are a little more tender so those are perfect, but no worries if you are working with a baseball size beet, it will still taste good!
First, cut the greens off about half inch above the beet, don't cut into the beet or the juices will bleed out while cooking. The same with the root, just leave it on for now. Scrub good with a vegetable brush and place the beets on a piece of aluminum foil, large enough that you will be able to wrap the amount of beets you are cooking.
Next rub (guess what?) olive oil, salt, and pepper all over the beets. I wear gloves for this task, your choice, you can potentially stain your hands a bit working with beets.
Wrap up the beets inside the foil, placing on a cookie sheet, this allows the heat to cook more evenly through the foil. Then place in the oven at what? You got it, 400 degrees! This amount of beets were done after 45 minutes, larger beets could take up to an hour.
After removing from the oven, cool the beets enough to work with. This next step I would definately wear gloves! Slice off the top stems and the bottom root, this will allow the outside to peel right off, should almost slip off but you may need to use your knife to help it along. Then chop, or slice, however you plan to serve them.
Now for the magic of presentation. You eat with your eyes first right? So feast your eyes on this! First drizzle some balsamic vinegar on your plate, a handful of arugula, a nice little scoop of your freshly roasted beets, a sprinkling of goat cheese, and a few pecan crumbles. Enjoy!
