Roasted Beets Without Foil

Roasted Beets Without Tin Foil

Prior to starting this blog, one of my favorite time savers was cooking in aluminum foil pans or lining a pan with tin foil for an easy clean up.  

Since starting this blog, I have been introduced to cooking with glass. Now I line the pan with parchment paper instead of foil. 

I am happy to say, the clean-up is not too difficult, and I have the pleasure of feeling like I am cooking more healthfully.

 
In general, I always like to have food available in all food groups, for a well-rounded diet. 

For the vegetables, I usually steam the or bake them. However, roasted vegetables, while more time consuming, are the tastiest. The other advantage is that I can put them in the oven and attend to other tasks while they cook.

Beets are one of our staple vegetables. They are hardy and colorful. As the are so dense, I usually boil them. They also tend to take a long time to cook, even with a pressure cooker. More than once, using a pressure cooker has resulted in many scorched beets and burnt pots.

Together with carrots, beets were one of the first vegetables that Yaffa learned to eat. I am not sure if it is because they are sweet, but other than zucchini, Yaffa does not care for green vegetables. I have to sneak them into things.

So, I wanted to try roasting beets instead of boiling them. I thought that it would be more flavorful, and, no peeling is required. A potential time saver!

Raizel is my budding gourmet. When she went to visit my mother, she informed me that, “Nana roasts beets in the oven with tin foil.” 

However, I wanted to find a way to roast beets without tin foil.

I am happy to say, I think that I have developed an easy method for roasting beets without tin foil.

Ingredients:

Beets, scrubbed and washed well and cut into quarters, depending on the size.  

The beets can be peeled, but, part of the appeal of roasting beets is that they don’t need to be peeled.

Spray oil

Salt

Optional: other herbs such a pepper, cumin, garlic, as desired

Instructions:

Use a roasting pan with a lid. Line the pan with lightly spray oiled parchment paper inside. 

Place beets in pan and spray oil the beets. Lightly sprinkle salt and other spices on top.

Roast the beets in a 425*F oven, covered, for approximately 1 to 11/2 hours, or until soft. Next, continue roasting without the lid, until they reach the desired roasting.

Covering the beets in the beginning , cooks the beets more evenly, without burning the outside, and having the inside still hard. Essentially, the beets are steamed in the oven and then finished off with roasting.

Here are the pictures:
 
  

Everyone is eating more beets now that I am making them this way. 

“Try it, you might like it!”

Enjoy!