ROASTED BEETS

Roasting beets seems to be the most common way of preparing the little red root veggies, and for good reason—it’s a tasty, easy way of cooking them. A few of the recipes in this chapter begin with roasted beets, so it only makes sense to start with a basic recipe for roasting. You can season them any way you want, but a great neutral start is with olive oil, salt, and pepper. SERVES 4 TO 6

PREP TIME: 10 minutes

COOK TIME: 40 minutes

8 beets, peeled and cut into chunks

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  2. On a baking sheet, spread out the chunks of beet and drizzle with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, and use your hands to mix it all together.
  3. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, checking on them halfway through the cooking time and mixing with a spatula.
  4. Serve warm.

VARIATION 1 ORANGE-GINGER ROASTED BEETS: Season the beets with ½ teaspoon dried ginger. When you remove the beets from the oven, squeeze the juice of ½ orange over them.

VARIATION 2 BALSAMIC-ROASTED BEETS: Add 1 or 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar to the beets before roasting. Adding balsamic vinegar creates a wonderfully sweet balance of tanginess.

PALEO PAIR: Serve these roasted beets with Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken Thighs (here).