Roasted Beets
 

So today was try something new day. Anyone have any ideas for seasoning / using roasted beets? They're OK plain (sorta) but I probably won't make them again (or use up what I made) unless I figure out a good way to eat them.

I love roasted beets! They are great sliced with some red onions, drizzled with olive oil and balsalmic vinaigrette and roasted.

I also add them to my usual "roster" of roasted vegetables - chickpeas, roma tomatoes, zucchini, baby carrots, sweet potato, red pepper chunk, onion, garlic.

I also add them to salads!

Thanks. I am planning to put them in my salad for lunch today (along with leftover salmon and asparagus). Do you add the balsamic before roasting?

I "wanna" love them :-) But I have learned to like, even love, some veggies just by eating them for a while even if I don't quite like them.

I roasted them a really long time and they were still a little too firm. I may just try tossing them with some balsamic and roasting a little more.

They seem to have an affinity for a crumbled cheese like blue or feta, and toasted nuts- maybe over spring greens with a lemony or mustardy vinegarette. I like then quick pickled with mostly vinegar and a touch of sweetener along with sliced red onion- a symphony in pink and purple!

For me, I prefer my beets cold, chopped and put into salads. I feel that way I can taste their sweetness more. I didn't care for them warm at all.

What I do is I put the beets (with peel on and 1" of the stems left on) in a foil packet in the oven at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes-1 hour depending on the size. Once they pierce easily with a knife, I peel them (the peel just kinda scrapes off easily), stick them in the fridge and when they're cold, I chop them into cubes... haha. No muss, no fuss. Sorry I can't offer any creative solutions, but I just thought the temperature might be an issue for you like it was for me...

Edited to add: My favorite salad with beets consists of mixed baby greens, crumbled goat cheese, and raspberry vinaigrette. Yummy!

When I make them with the onions, I slice the beets and onions really thinly and add the balsalmic/drizzle of olive oil before roasting. When I add the beets to a big pan of roasted vegetables, I cut them into very small cubes (I cut up all the "takes longer to cook" veggies into smaller pieces (sweet potatoes, carrots, beets) so everything takes about the same amount of time to cook).

Glory, I tried a recipe (if you can call it that) for sweet potatoes that had you microwave first, then put in the oven, and it cut the oven time down drastically. Turned out great. For 2 potatoes, it said to microwave on full for 6-12m (until slightly soft to the touch, turning halfway through), then bake at 450 for 20 minutes. I just did one (on the smallish side) and only microwaved 3 minutes and baked, I think, about 12 minutes. Turned out perfectly. Probably easier just to roasted if you're doing a mix of veggies, but for one potato, that was nice and fast.

Oh yeah, I've been known to do that. I have a great recipe for sweet potato, black bean, quinoa quesadillas and I can't stand waiting 30 minutes to roast the sweet potatoes. So, I nuke for 5 minutes, roast for 10 ;)

If you roast whole beets with the skin on, just put them into cold water and the skins should slip right off. I usually boil mine, skin on, and then put them in cold water. We grow our own beets, and little fresh ones are a delicacy imho. :) I can them both plain and pickled, and I have a recipe for an awesome beet relish - ground up and mixed with ground up cabbage and vinegar and spices. It's excellent with pork and chicken. But I digress.....

Thanks for all the great ideas. Definitely better with the balsamic and definitely better cold.

I will say this ... beets will teach you something about colon transit times.

Julie :rofl: But it's ohhh so true. Long ago - at least 20 years - I took a relaxation course through community schools and the guy who taught it swore that eating beets would cure hemorrhoids!