Okay, every single one of us has a love of beets. You either love to eat them OR you love to hate them. Seriously, I don't know one person that has ever said "Well, I kinda like beets." It is either love or hate with the purple/pink little things! I personally LOVE beets. Will admit to consuming pickled beets regularly. I have canned them for the past 14 years using my Grandmas recipe. It is the best! I get compliments all the time on it. And have been asked many times for the recipe.
I know people that just boil, clean, and eat. That just never sounded appetizing. But I had read many times about roasted beets. People using them on salads. As main dishes. As side dishes. I kept my eye out for some quality beets. I'm kinda picky about them. Wanted nice firm hard beet. Finally coming across some at the flea market that I frequent.
I looked up many recipes. All had their little "quirks" to try. I did my own type of thing. Most call for you to scrub and clean off the stem and root. Bake at ____ degrees. Then easily peel the skin from them. Well, I don't play that game. Having dealt with beets for years .. I treat them like a potato. I washed them off. Then I use/used a potato peeler to clean them. Yes, the skins come off easily the other way but I'm not a fan of messing with hot purple items that can and normally do stain ones hands. Been there. Done that. I highly recommend using plastic gloves. Just in case you missed it .. they can and will stain your hands if you do a lot of them.
So, I peeled them. Made an aluminum foil pouch and placed the beets in it. Drizzled with EVOO .... very little. Sprinkled with salt and pepper. And placed them in a 375 degree oven. The time is 100% dependent on the size of your beets. I had two larger beets that were time consuming! You want a fork to easily go into the beet.
These were FABULOUS! WONDERFUL! SPECTACULAR! Needless to say ... I LOVED THEM! I had a little one early on. I knew it wouldn't take long to cook. It was spectacular and was really hoping they would all turn out that way. I was not disappointed! The following pic is probably the best salad that I've ever made. I know that sounds strange. Warm roasted beets, blue cheese, sunflower seeds, romaine lettuce, and drizzled a little french dressing. OMG! It was heaven! See the steam coming off the beets?!
If you like beets, I highly recommend you play around with them this way. I cut up the extra and placed in the fridge for future use. I might just pop in the oven for a little bit to heat back up. Next time around, I plan to cube the beets. That will really cut down on bake time. I might like good fuel. I might not mind spending a good deal of time on it. But if you can find a quicker way .. some of the time it is all good!
Let me know if you give it a try!
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