Roasted Beets

From my childhood, I recall loving picked beets. I was always fascinated how bright red the vinegar turned from the beets.

1 large beet or 2 small beets makes a good serving for one person

Ingredients

• 1 large beet per person or 2 small beets per person
• Enough of a light flavored oil, such as vegetable, sunflower, or canola oil to lightly coat the beets.
• a small sprig of fresh thyme for each large beet or one for each 2 small beets
• Coarse salt to taste

Tools:

Large cast iron skillet

Instructions

1. Turn on the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. If the beets have leaves, trim them to about an inch above the top of the beet roots. The leaves are editable, so you might want to find something else to do them.
3. Scrub the beet roots, then trim off the root end and the top end.
4. If using small beets, cut them in half. If using large beets, cut them into quarters or eighths.
5. Toss the beets with the oil in the cast iron skillet.
6. Top the beets with the sprigs of thyme and then sprinkle with salt.
7. Put the beets into the oven and cook until they are fork tender. This can take from 30 to 60 minutes. Check after 30 minutes and then every 10 minutes after.
8. If you don’t want to eat the peels, let the beets cool down and peel them.

Notes:

If you have something else in the oven, you can cook beets from temperatures between 325 to 425 degrees F; it takes longer to cook them at the lower temperatures and faster at a higher temperature.

A dash of something acidic brings some brightness to the earthy flavor of the beets. A squeeze of lemon juice, orange juice, or a few drops of a light vinegar, such as champagne or raspberry sprinkled over the warm beets makes them a little taster.

• 

•