Roasted Beets and Carrots Recipe with Sage (2024)

FAQs

Why not peel beets before roasting? ›

No need to peel before or after baking. The skin, which is perfectly edible, just seems to disappear during the baking process. The trick to pan-roasted beets is to drop the temperature a bit. I always roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and pretty much all the other veggies at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Time to get wrapping! Place each trimmed beet on a piece of foil that's big enough to wrap the beet up. Then, rub the beet lightly with a little olive or avocado oil; you don't need much, just a small coating. This will help the skins to slip off, ultimately, after roasting.

Roasted beets with orange juice (squeeze it over the roasted beets just before serving) will taste delicious. Or try Parmesan, feta, or blue cheese. A drizzle of walnut oil makes for a nutty addition.

Sometimes beets are peeled before cooking. They may also be scrubbed and cooked until tender with their skins on; the skins slip off fairly easily after cooling. (Some people are happy to leave the skins on; they are fine to eat.) You can also pickle cooked beets.

You can use any variety of beets to make this recipe. Save time, and effort and reduce waste by skipping wrapping them in foil. Roast them on a baking pan or parchment paper. They peel easily, but to avoid staining hands I recommend using gloves.

Most people do peel beets, because the skin is a bit unattractive and can be dirty even after a good scrub. But beet skins are rich in nutrients and perfectly fine to eat too.

Some benefits of eating beets may include lower blood pressure and better athletic performance, among others. Eating beets raw or juicing and roasting them may be more beneficial than boiling them. Beetroots, commonly known as beets, are a vibrant and versatile type of vegetable.

Clean, dry, and cut beets. Add a little lemon juice to some water and cover the beets. The lemon juice will keep the beets from bleeding and look extra bright after they are cooked!

Like many vegetables, the longer you cook beets—especially in water—the more the colorful phytonutrients leach out of the food and into the water. Retain the good-for-you nutrients in beets by roasting them or sautéing them instead. Or lightly steam them for just a few minutes, suggests Doyle.

Slow-roasting beets in a foil packet or covered baking dish takes away much of the earthy taste and intensifies the flavor, but you will still have a bit of bleeding and nutrient loss. Grilling beets over wood or charcoal will add a layer of smokiness.

What flavors pair well with beets? ›

Also ingredients like dark chocolate, nuts, coffee or roasted onions have earthy flavors and pair well with beetroot. This could be explained by the presence of 'pyrazines', which are aromatic structures formed during the process of roasting ingredients. These pyrazines also contain an earthy smell.

You can use cooked beets in salads, to make hummus or to blend into smoothies. They can be diced for slaw, quartered for a grain bowl or mashed to make a dip or spread. Their thick and chewy texture is even great in a galette or quesadilla.

Roasting beets gives them a sweeter, richer, and deeper flavor than boiling does.

Roasting beets is the best way to concentrate all the sugars in them and make them rich and sweet. However, if you cook them too long they can get bitter. If they overcook, the sugars in the beets will burn which is what makes them bitter. Make sure you only cook them until they are tender.

While roasting yields flavorful results, steaming beets makes their skin easier to peel off and makes them tender and more pleasant to eat.

Keep checking whichever method you're using. Don't remove the beet skin before cooking. It's really not necessary and it's much easier to do so after cooking. Some also find that removing the skin prior to cooking takes away some of the beet's earthy test.

Once sufficiently cool enough to handle, cut both the top and root to leave the beet whole, then grab a rough kitchen towel and gently peel the beets by rubbing the skin off with your hands under the towel.

Roasting beets is the best way to concentrate all the sugars in them and make them rich and sweet. However, if you cook them too long they can get bitter. If they overcook, the sugars in the beets will burn which is what makes them bitter. Make sure you only cook them until they are tender.