If my aunt had been able to come visit us this week as planned before her puppy became ill, we would probably have served her roasted beets from the garden, a first for her. Last night I went ahead and pulled a few beets to prepare for our supper, and the following pictures show the results. A variety of other vegetables also went into this dish--you can be creative with whatever you have on hand!
I scrubbed the beets well and cut them into medium-sized chunks. Potatoes and carrots were added and spread in a layer on a roasting pan. I drizzled this with olive oil and seasoned with a little rosemary, salt, and pepper. These were baked at 400 degrees for an hour and stirred maybe every 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, I chopped wedges of onion, yellow squash, zucchini, and radish to throw in. These softer vegetables were stirred in after the first half hour of cooking and baked for another 30 minutes or so. Add more oil as needed to prevent sticking when you stir the vegetables.
In the fall, this dish is slightly less colorful, minus the fresh squashes, but I usually add butternut squash and sweet potato to the mix. Just determine which vegetables need cooking the longest and start those first.
We served the roasted vegetables with Spicy Peanut Chicken over rice. So there's an example of a dish we've made using fresh-from-the-garden produce!
~Hannah
Awww, Hannah! That looks soooo good! Hate to miss being with you all this week. Looking forward to coming a little later in the summer.
Posted by: Aunt Bet | Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 07:19 AM
That looks like it would be absolutely delicious. It looks so colorful too. Your aunt sure missed out. Hopefully she'll be able to get there soon and enjoy some of that Girotti's fine home cooking.Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Victoria
Posted by: victoria | Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 08:11 AM
That looks like it would be absolutely delicious and it's so colorful too. I hope your aunt will be able to reschedule and come enjoy some of that Girotti fine home cooking. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Victoria
Posted by: victoria | Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 08:14 AM
Sounds yummy!
It is too bad Barney got sick.
Posted by: Tammy | Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 10:04 AM
Oh my Hannah, that sounds SO delicious.... never thought of the olive oil drizzled over it all. So many good things in that pot. Sort of like a dry stew.... the hard squashes, later in the season, sound even more delectable.... those are some of my favourites. Acorn, butternut, even pumpkins (nothing but a squash anyway, right... I like the small sugar pie ones best) Makes me wish I had more time for serious cooking these days. Oh well......
Posted by: Nick Jesch | Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 01:32 PM
That dish looks so delicious! I LOVE beets! My Dad just brought me some he grew and cooked yesterday. :) The mention of drizzling olive oil made me think of how we have been cooking fresh green beans lately...steamed, drizzled with olive oil, squirted with fresh lemon juice then a dash of sea salt! Try it sometime...you will all love it!
Posted by: Dorothy | Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 02:29 PM
I've done this with winter veggies but have never tried it with beets or summer veggies.It looks so good. And now I have to check out your Spicy Peanut Chicken.
Posted by: Islandsparrow | Friday, June 26, 2009 at 07:49 PM
Wow, this vegetable recipe is definitely a recipe we have to try...but I can tell already that my family will love it. I think we'd also like the chicken recipe, but with two peanut allergies in the family, I will probably use cashew butter or almond butter instead of the peanutbutter. Thanks for the inspiration!
Posted by: Kathie | Sunday, June 28, 2009 at 08:31 AM