beets | Afterlife Cafe

My husband introduced me to roasted beets early in our relationship. I couldn’t stand beets when I was growing up. It was probably because they were canned and then boiled. That’s no way to treat a beet.

Roasting brings out a sweetness and earthiness in the beets. They are delicious plain however we can’t resist a bit of oil and candied orange peel. Any citrus zest can be substituted for the orange peel. It won’t be the same but it will be close.

Roasted Beets
Servings: 8-10
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 80 minutes

Ingredients:

8 red beets
1-2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. chopped candied orange peel
kosher salt and cracked black pepper

Directions:

Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
If the greens are still attached to the beets remove them, leaving 1″ of stalk on the beet. Scrub the beets well under cool water to remove any surface dirt.
Place the scrubbed beats in a 13″x9″ glass pan. Add 1 cup of water and cover the pan with aluminum foil.
Bake for an hour and check the beets. If a paring knife easily pierces to the center of the beet then it is ready to come out. If not bake for another 10-15 minutes and repeat.
Uncover and allow the beets to cool for 10 minutes or so. When they are cool enough to hold (a silicon pot holder is useful here) use a pairing knife to remove the top of the beet and then peel the skin from the beet.
Quarter beets and place in a bowl. Add the olive oil, chopped orange peel plus kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Stir to combine and serve.

Notes:
Save the greens for another use by wrapping loosely in a damp paper towel and placing in an open plastic bag (such as a bag from the grocery store). They should stay fairly fresh for a day or two.

You may want to wear disposable rubber gloves while you peel and cut up the beets. Unless red hands are your thing.

When our friend with the walnut allergy isn’t around we’ll use walnut oil in the place of olive oil. Very tasty.