My valentines day present also included beets, whole and intact--not from a can, imagine that! I love beets and always order them when I see them on menus, but I've never tried roasting them myself. Well, I'm glad I learned how to cook these babies because they turned out super delicious, looked incredibly beautiful and went wonderfully with bright oranges and toasted walnuts. I even got to take a friend's beet v-card, and she loved them!
1 bunch fresh beets
olive oil
salt+pepper
2 oranges
walnuts
Preheat the oven to 350 and start by cutting off the beet greens, and rinsing the beets
As a side note, I didn't end up doing this myself, but the greens are apparently really delicious sauteed like spinach with garlic and olive oil
Next, wrap them in tin foil and pour a touch of olive oil over the beets
Wrap up the tin foil to make a little packet
Put the packet in the oven and don't touch it for about 45 minutes to an hour, until the beets are fork-tender
While these are cooking, chop up walnuts and put them into a pan over low heat
Toss occasionally until the walnuts are lightly toasted
After the walnuts are done, let them cool off and get started on peeling the oranges and cutting them into slices
When the beets are done, take them out of the oven and open the foil packet
It'll be all steamy and smell good
Let the beets cool off. You have to take the skin off of the beet, but that's the messy part so I looked up how to do this and found a cool trick. Run the beet under cold water as you gently rub the skin off, and the dye will wash away with the water, staining your fingers minimally.
Cut the beets into fourths and toss with the oranges and the walnuts
Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and some sea salt
The dye from the beets will turn the oranges a beautiful pink
This is a perfect, non-traditional salad or side dish and was lovely with some chickendorisgordon!
Enjoy!
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