Beets on the Side
Beets on the Side
Serves 4 to 6
1 recipe Roasted Beets, below, using 6 medium beets
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ cup sugar
¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon crystallized ginger, chopped
zested rind from 1 orange
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Prepare Roasted Beets recipe. When beets have nearly finished roasting, place cornstarch in a small saucepan and slowly whisk in all other ingredients. Bring slowly to a boil, continuing to stir, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat.
When beets have finished roasting, peel, then slice or chunk as you like. Add to the saucepan with sauce and reheat so beets are warmed throughout. You can add 1 tablespoon butter to enrich, but I usually don’t. Who needs the calories? Serve hot.
Roasted Beets
Two beets per person
As many beets of you want!
Optional
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
Directions
Wash beets. They should be uniform in size. Ones that are around 2 to 4 inches in diameter tend to taste best. Too big and they are woody. Trim off root ends and leafy tops. If young and tender, save the tops to put in your salad.
Preheat oven to 350°. Make a foil roasting packet with heavy-duty, wide foil. Pull off two pieces long enough to completely wrap around the beets in a single layer. Place one piece of the foil on a cookie sheet lengthwise, then top with the other piece centered widthwise. Place the beets in a single layer on top and seal each piece of foil separately, encasing the beets in an airtight packet.
Roast until tender, 40 minutes to an hour. The size and freshness of the beets alter the cooking time. You can test by piercing one with a knife. Remember when you unseal the foil, there will be steam. Don’t get burned. If beets are not done, reseal the foil tightly before returning to oven.
Remove from oven and carefully uncover. While the beets are still warm, slip off the skins by holding a beet under cold water and massaging the peel off. Most times, you won’t have to use a paring knife. Beets will stain, so use a chopping board or surface that easily cleans. Slice or dice beets and serve as an accompaniment to meats or a simple side dish with a splash of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Left plain, you can store for 3 or 4 days. If you marinate them in a vinegar-based dressing, they keep for a week in the refrigerator. These are great additions to salads or soups.
Sally Uhlmann’s passion for cooking led her to publish a memoir-style cookbook, “Just Cook with Sally.” She splits her time between the States and her farmhouse in Cortona, Italy, when she is not traveling the world. Sally cooks, develops recipes, and writes stories—mostly about the intersection of food, travel, and her life.
