Mahalo cooking expert Miranda Valentine shows you how to properly roast beets.
Ingredients and Equipment
- Beets, cleaned with tops and roots cut off
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 long piece of tin foil
- 1 medium bowl of cool water
- 1 paper towel
- 1 sharpened chef's knife
- 1 serving platter or platehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grMWaD-dQr8
Preparing the Beets
1. Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).
2. Place beets in the center of the tin foil in a clump.
3. Pull the sides of the foil up and drizzle olive oil on top.
4. Turn the beets and make sure they are thoroughly coated in olive oil.
5. Close the tinfoil over the beets, leaving some holes for ventilation.
Roasting the Beets
6. Place tinfoil "tent" into the oven, allowing them to roast for one hour.
7. Place beets in bowl of cool water and peel the skin off with your fingers.
8. Dry beets with paper towel.
9. Slice or chop, whatever your preference, lay on your serving plate and enjoy!
The Finished Product!
References
Meet Our Experts
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Miranda Valentine
Miranda Valentine blogs about food and lifestyle at Everything Sounds Better in French. Miranda graduated from the University of Southern Maine and earned her master's degree from the University of Southern California. She works as a contributing writer for Bunker Hill Magazine and Joonbug.com's LA edition.
Beet Tips
Select beets that are heavy for their size, and do not have any obvious nicks or dents.
Wash your beets thoroughly to remove any excess dirt before roasting.
Store your beets in the refrigerator in a perforated plastic bag with a moist paper towel inside.
Roast the beets with only olive oil and salt to make them more versatile for a variety of recipes thereafter.
Why Roast?
Roasting beet roots is a preferred method because it brings out a creamy texture and flavor that is not accessible when the beet is raw.
Beets with Spice
Some complimentary spices to the beet flavor are basil, dillweed, ginger and garlic, though not necessarily all together. Also, many of the herbs and seasonings typically used with sweet foods compliment the beet root well, like allspice, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. http://www.spiceadvice.com/newsa/usage/chart.html
