Recipe #7: Roasted Beets and Garlic

Since I just posted a recipe for turnips, I thought it made sense to follow with a recipe for beets.  Like turnips, people are usually either indifferent, confused, or disgusted by beets.  I thought I hated them until last summer when I decided to give them another chance.  I bought some local beets, roasted them in olive oil and totally fell in love.  I recently converted my mom after we bought some at the Flint Farmer's Market a few weeks ago.  Beets are cheap, easy to find any time of year, super good for you, yummy hot or cold, and they are about the prettiest color veggie out there.  They add an awesome color to dishes, they are great for word play ("Yo! These are some dope beets!" groan) and Dwight Schrute grows them.  They are sweet and "earthy"--like candied dirt but better!  Not sold yet?  Well, give this a try:

Look how cool I am! I'm like a ruby that you can eat!

3-5 medium beets
3-5 teaspoons olive oil
3-5 cloves garlic, peeled
sea salt
pepper



Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Peel the beets.  You can roast them without peeling them and the skins will come off easily but you have to wait until they are cool enough to handle and it can be messy.  I like to just get it over with.  Place each peeled beet in the center of a square of aluminum foil big enough to cover it.  Drizzle each beet with 1 teaspoon olive oil and top with 1 clove of garlic.  Sprinkle with sea salt and crack some fresh pepper on them then wrap the foil so the beet and the garlic are snuggling closely (awww).  Place wrapped beets on a cookie sheet and stick them in the oven.  Check to see if they are "forking tender" (hee hee) after 45 minutes.  To do this, CAREFULLY open one of the foil packages and stick a fork in the largest beet (since that is the one that will take the longest to cook).  You'll want to avoid dripping searing hot olive oil on your skin at all costs.  Give them another 10-15 minutes if they are not done yet.  After that, remove them from the oven and carefully peel back the foil and let them cool down a little.  Slice the beets or cut them into chunks and mince the garlic.  Reserve the olive oil that you used for roasting.  You'll notice that your knife and cutting board are now covered with an awesome magenta color.  Don't worry about it, just rinse them off and they should be fine.  Put beets and garlic in a container and drizzle with the reserved oil.  Add a little more salt and pepper to taste.  Eat them now or put them in the fridge to eat on salads later on.  In Appetite for Reduction, there is a recipe for roasted beets that uses no oil- just beets in foil.  This is a great option if you are not wanting the extra calories from the oil.  

Beet Greens 
If you bought beets with the greens on and the leaves look bright and aren't limp, eat 'em up!  Wash them well, remove leaves from the stems, chop the stems and saute them by themselves in 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil.  After 5 minutes, add the chopped leaves and a Tablespoon of water, stir well and cover.  Leaves should wilt after about 3 minutes.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and a few drops of lemon juice.  If you have walnuts, chop them up and add them too.  Walnuts and greens are pretty much a perfect combo in my book.