Beets 101

A lot of people don’t know how to cook beets correctly, so they end up being tasteless blobs that turn your fingers red. This is a short, simple post on how to cook them correctly, which I learned from the PBS Victory Garden cookbook — which is one of the most comprehensive cookbooks on vegetables. Unfortunately I think it’s out of print. 😞

Here’s how to make beets so that they are not only completely tender, but extremely sweet. Cooking them slowly at low heat caramelizes the sugar in them and makes them taste almost like dessert.

Roasted Beets

This works for any amount of beets.  Our favorite are the golden beets. (yellow)

Preheat your oven to 275º
(yes, not a typo, only 275)

• I take a shallow pan, I use a ceramic one, and I cut the stems off the ends and trim any extra stuff. Do not peel them.
• Place them in the pan, and drizzle about 3 tablespoons of olive oil on top of them, I shake the pan around a bit to get the olive oil to coat them good
• sprinkle them with sea salt.

Now here’s the part that will seem unbelievable. You set the oven at 275° and you put them in uncovered, and you bake them for about three hours. Depending on the size of the beets, you can shave a half an hour off if they’re extremely small or you can go as long as four hours for very big beets.

Take out, peel, and slice.  They’re good warm or room temp.  Or cube them for salad.  Anyway you cut them, they’re really good.  All we add is salt and pepper, or a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

What’s so great about beets?  Read the health benefits of beets HERE.