It is hard to improve on the Roasted Beets with Balsamic Glaze recipe by Elise Bauer in Simply Recipes, but my daughter and I really wanted roasted beets with goat cheese, so here is our modification.
- 3 bunches of beets (about 3 pounds)
- 1/4-1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup coarse Kosher salt
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon grated orange zest (optional)
- dash of black pepper
- additional salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 oz goat cheese, chilled to firm then cut into small rectangles
Heat the oven to 400° F.
Wash the beets and cut off the greens, leaving 1/4-inch stems sticking out of the top. Leave the root “tail” in place, and leave the skins intact. By leaving a small amount of stems and tails as well as the skins in place, you prevent the beet juice from leaking all over the pan and making a giant mess.
Line a baking pan with heavy aluminum foil.
Set up your work station with a small bowl of olive oil, a small bowl of salt, and your prepared beets near the foil-lined pan.
Roll each beat in the oil and then in the salt. The salt does not need to fully cover each beet.
Place the oiled and salted beets on the foil-lined pan. When all beets are oiled and salted, cover the top of the beets with another piece of foil, then roll and crimp the edges to prevent any heat from escaping.
Roast the beets for one hour. Test with a meat fork by poking through the top layer of foil into a beet. If the beet is not tender to the poking fork, bake another 30 minutes. It may take 1-1/2 hours or possibly 2 hours for the beets to become tender.
When the beets are tender, remove from the oven, carefully open the foil and allow the beets to begin cooling.
Make the balsamic reduction while the beets cool slightly.
In a small non-stick skillet, add the balsamic vinegar and sugar and dash of pepper, then stir and heat on high until the sauce has reduced down to a dark syrup. You will only have a few tablespoons of the syrup, but it is enough. Remove the pan from the heat.
Using gloves to protect your hands from the beet juice stains, peel the cooling beets. If the skins do not come off easily, try a vegetable peeler. Cut the skinned beets into quarters and then bite-size chunks. Stir the sauce into the beets, add additional salt and pepper to taste, and then toss in the goat cheese.
Don’t stir too much, the goat cheese melts easily and will take on the beet juice stain.
Use the orange zest as a garnish.
Step-by-step photos:
