Title: The Best Way To Cook Beets
Categories: Vegetables, Info
Servings: 1 text file
beets
The trick to successfully cooking beets is to soften them while also
concentrating their sweet flavor. Roasting beets can result in
something akin to jerky. Boiling them will produce soggy sponges.
The best cooking method I know comes from Tom Colicchio, who wrote
in The Craft of Cooking about roasting beets in a foil packet. His
way, the roasting condenses the beets' sweetness while a layer of
steam inside the packet keeps them moist.
The technique's as easy as can be.
1. Heat your oven to 350°F.
2. Cut off the leggy root and the tops (Reserve the stems and leaves
for another use.) Then scrub the beets if they're dirty.
3. Lay a large piece of foil on a baking sheet, leaving half the foil
hanging off one end. Place the beets on top of the foil on the
baking sheet. Sprinkle the beets with olive oil--just enough to
dress them like salad greens--and season with salt and pepper.
Fold the foil in half to make a packet and crimp the edges.
4. Bake until the beets are tender (you can check by piercing a fork
through the foil). It usually takes 40 to 60 minutes, depending on
the size of the beets. Let them cool in the foil packets.
5. When the beets are cool enough to touch, remove them from the
packet and peel off the skins--they should slip off like Concord
grape skins.
What to do with your perfectly roasted beets? Here are 3 ideas:
1. Cut the beets into small wedges and toss them with Greek yogurt
and Meyer lemon zest and juice.
2. Slice the beets into thin circles, arrange in a cluster on a
flameproof pan, cover the beets with thin slices of Camembert and
broil until the cheese melts and begins to toast.
3. Cut the beets into tiny cubes, dress them with a sharp mustardy
vinaigrette and spoon them atop a tuft of mache, frisee, or baby
arugula. Serve with roasted salmon.
A New Way to Dinner, co-authored by Food52's founders Amanda Hesser
and Merrill Stubbs
