This time of year we’re roasting more vegetables in the oven; it just seems to fit late fall – early winter weather and schedules these days.
One of our favorites are these delicious Dutch Oven Roasted Beets with a sprig of rosemary; it’s ridiculously simple though takes a bit of time to finish (a couple of hours).
You can use beets of any color, and any size for that matter, though note that larger beets take longer to roast, and if you mix sizes of beets in your roasting batch, you may need to remove the smaller beets as the larger ones finish roasting.
Beets offer a host of health benefits, though are often eaten in moderation given their carbohydrate content. The nitrates in beets, converted into nitric oxide in the body, are how most experts explain beets’ blood pressure lowering and exercise tolerance improvements, and beets provide betaine, which moderates inflammation and lowers homocysteine (higher levels are associated with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease) . Of course beets are packed with phytonutrients too.
Though beets offer impressive amounts of fiber, vitamin C, potassium, manganese, magnesium, and folate, we like them because they taste so good.
4 pounds of fresh beets, any color, 4-inches or under
2 tbsp avocado oilOptional: Sprig or two of rosemary
Preheat your trusty oven to 425; brush the inside of your Dutch oven with the avocado oil.
Trim all but about 2-inches of the beet tops off; leave the beet tails intact (pull off any long, stringy fibers). Scrub the beets very well under running water, but leave the skins intact.
Place the prepped beets in the bottom of the Dutch oven in a single layer; it’s fine if they’re touching. Add a sprig or two of rosemary if desired. Cover with the DO lid and place in the oven.
Turn the beets over every 40 minutes; at the second turn (80 minutes), test for doneness by piercing the beets with a wooden skewer. If the skewer penetrates the beet easily and smoothly passes to the center of the beet, the beet is cooked through. Note that smaller beets cook faster; if you have some smaller and some larger in the batch, remove the smaller beets are they’re cooked. Test every every 10-15 minutes after the 80 minute mark, cook until tender.
Remove from the oven, let cool 15-20 minutes, then trim the tops and roots/tails, and scrub the skins off under running cold water. Watch that beet juice – it stains everything!
There are a host of ways to serve these, use your imagination and go to it; most often we’re reheating in butter in a saucepan and digging in.
Enjoy.
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