Roasted Beets

Changing up the vegetable side dishes come dinner time has always been a bit of a challenge.  The usual green beans or corn is always my standby.  I’ve become more comfortable getting out of my cooking comfort zone and breaking free of that dinner menu rut.  My family really enjoys a nice beet salad, but I only use one beet for salads and since beets are usually purchased in bundles I always had left over beets to use up.  I decided to experiment and came up with a wonderful roasted beet recipe that my family enjoys, and yes even my pickiest eater loves these beets…my youngest tells me it is because of the beautiful beet color…but I think she loves the rich flavor! 

Prep Time:          15 min

Cook Time:          45 min

INGREDIENTS

3 beets

2 teaspoons olive oil

¼ teaspoon of dried thyme (if too strong for your taste cut down to 1/8 teaspoon)

½ teaspoon of sea salt

¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper

2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar

Juice of half of 1 lime (or 2 teaspoons lime juice)

* Click here for a printable version of this recipe: Brandy’s Roasted Beets Recipe

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

 Removed tops and roots of the beets.  Peel beets with a vegetable peeler.  Cut each beet in half and each half into eighths. 

 Place beets in a bowl and olive oil and toss.  Add thyme, sea salt, and pepper and toss again. Place seasoned beets on a baking sheet.  Roast for 45 minutes; turn once midway with spatula.  Bake until beets are tender (easily punctured with a fork.)

 Remove from oven and promptly toss with red wine vinegar and lime juice.  If desired, top with blue cheese crumbles and sliced almonds.  An alternative topping is gorgonzola crumbles and pecans. These beets are delicious by themselves but the cheese and nuts adds a wonderful combination of flavors.

Enjoy!