Conquering Another Foodie Phobia: Roasted Beets

First I conquered my cooking phobia of Scallops, and now I'm tackling beets. I love beets. Napa Valley-based Bistro Jeanty's Salade de Betteraves is one of my favorites in the world. It's got beautiful jewel-toned beets, mâche and feta cheese and citrus dressing. It's fantastic, especially when accompanied by their tomato soup with puff pastry crust. But that's another blog for another day.

So I went to the Beverly Hills' Farmers Market last Sunday morning and bought two bunches of beets, one of Chioggia (interior white/red concentric rings) and the other, Burpee's Golden beets for $3. Talk about a deal. I asked the vendor to remove the stems; in my own mind, I was one step closer to clean beets. I got them home, let out a big sigh and opened the bag, ready to tackle the beets. Then it hit me; roasting beets can't be any different than roasting any other root veggie. And if that was the case, I knew how to do it. You just cut off the edges, scrub the skins and roast them in the oven for just under an hour (depending on the size). I could do this!

After roasting the beets, I have to admit I'm completely embarrassed I was ever intimidated by them. I feel like I'm a representative of The Idiots Guide to Cooking. No, seriously. I have roasted pretty much everything under the sun...beef, broccoli, root vegetables, peaches, etc. Why I thought beets would be beyond me is, well... beyond me. But I'll stop beating myself up and get to the recipe! :)

Oven-Roasted Beets

• 3 medium beets (red or gold), scrubbed, leaves trimmed
• Olive oil
• Aluminum foil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat beets lightly with oil (omit this step if you're going watching calories; the beets will steam in the foil even without the oil).

Cut top and bottom edges off beets

Scrub beets under running water until clean

Wrap beets in aluminum foil, place on a baking sheet, and roast in the oven until cooked through, approximately 45 to 60 minutes.

Wrap beets with aluminum foil and place on cooking sheet

Bake for 45-60 minutes, depending on size of beets

Remove from the oven, let cool for 10 minutes, and then peel. The skin should come off very easily, either using your fingers or a paring knife.

Remove beets from oven and let cool for 10 minutes

Unwrap beets and remove skin with fingers or paring knife

Discard the skin and the foil and use the beets however you want: slice into 1/4-inch thick slices for a gratin, quarter them and toss them in a salad with lentils, goat cheese and frisee. Whatever you do with them, enjoy!

Beautiful roasted beets, peeled and ready to go!