Garlic Roasted Beets

Hi, Chef Sandy Krebs here!  In the Northern Hemisphere it’s a great time of year for root vegetables.

One of my favorite root vegetables are beets.  You can roast the roots, you can sauté the stems and leaves, you can eat the leaves raw in salads, and you can drink the juice.  After you roast them you can eat them hot, or you can put them in the frig and eat them cold in salads.  I meet a lot of people that turn their noses up at beets.  When I question them about this I usually find that their experience with beets extends to having eaten canned beets (that usually taste more like the inside of a can than a beet) as a kid.  When I push these folks to try one of my garlic roasted beets, I usually have a convert for life.

 A lot of chefs I know don’t bother to peel the beets before they roast them because the skins peel off easily after they are cooked.  I personally prefer to peel them first and then rub them with garlic.  I think they retain more of that garlic flavor when you peel them before you cook them, and I never met a garlic flavor I didn’t like.  Sure your hands may get a little purple, but what the heck.  The recipe for roasted beets follows.  The size of the beets will make a difference in how long it takes them to cook through, so if your beets are very big I suggest cutting them in half or quartering them before you cook them.  Also, the cooking time is approximate.  They are fully cooked when you can slide a knife in easily.  Don’t keep opening the oven to check them or you will let out the heat and steam that is cooking them.  Trust your nose; when they are done you’ll smell it!

Garlic Roasted Beets

With a very sharp paring knife peel the beets, making sure to retain the stems and leaves for sautéing or salads.

Rub with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Minced Garlic, Salt and Pepper (all to taste).

Place in a roasting pan with a tight fitting lid or cover the pan with foil making sure to seal the edges.

Cook in a 350 oven for about an hour and fifteen minutes.

That’s it, easy.  Don’t forget to retain the rendered juices after roasting; that’s one of the best parts!