Roasted Beets with Rosemary Oil

There’s nothing quite like the deep red of beets on a winter plate. Roasted beets pair well with citrus which brightens their sweetness and rosemary brings an earthiness to the fruitiness.

You can certainly eat these hot, but they’re also good at room temperature (think picnics and packed lunches).

Roasted Beets with Rosemary Oil Ingredients
24 ounces of red beets (4 — 6 ounce beets)
1/2 c olive oil
2 Tbl dried rosemary
1 lemon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp coarse black pepper

Roasted Beets with Rosemary Oil Directions
1. Heat an oven to 350.

2. Wash your beets and cut off the foliage (make beet green chips!). Poke a couple of holes in the beets.

3. Place the beets in a Pyrex, add a thin layer of water, and tightly cover them with an oven proof lid or with aluminum foil. Place them in the oven.

4. Heat the oil and rosemary in a frying pan. Use high heat until you see a few bubbles under the surface. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Allow to cool and strain the oil.

5. After 50 minutes, remove the beets from the oven and pierce one with a knife. If the knife penetrates the beet easily, it’s done. If not, add a little water to the dish if needed, tightly cover them and return to the oven and check on them in 15 minutes. It took mine 2 hours to get soft. The beets become fragrant right before they’re finished cooking.

6. Allow the beets to cool just enough (easier to peel them) for you to be able to handle them. Slice off the two ends of the beets. Stand the beet on end and cut off the peel in vertical strips and slice the beet down the middle. Lay the large flat side down with the ends to the left and right and slice them about 1/4 inch thick (they’ll be semi-circle shape).

7. Put the beets in a bowl with 1/2 tsp of lemon zest, salt, black pepper and juice from one lemon. Mix well (hands are the easiest and quickest way). Add 1/4 c of rosemary oil and mix well.

Notes
Put a small mesh strainer on top of a small jar with a lid. Strain the oil directly in the jar. Put the lid on the extra oil and save it in the fridge. It’ll be good for a few weeks. You can use it to make a salad dressing, cook eggs, drizzle chicken with it, etc.

Unless you’re a ninja, your beets will be room temperature when you finalize this dish. You can eat them at room temperature or return them to the Pyrex and warm them in the oven.