I keep telling you that if you don't like a vegetable, it's because you've never had it prepared right. This recipe is all about putting my lowly root veggie where my mouth is. And you know what? These are great. Allow 15 minutes for prep and about 35-45 in the oven.
Fair warning: Beets will dye everything they contact -- your hands, a plastic cutting board, the dog. Clean up quickly (but if you don't, fingernail polish remover will take care of your hands).
“If there's one vegetable I hate, it's beets." - me (retracted)
Ingredients:
Fresh beets (I used two small beets per serving)
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced
Sea salt
Olive oil
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Wash and scrub the beets to get rid of any dirt. Cut off the pointy top and the rooty bottom. Peel and cut into very thin slices. I don't have a fancy mandolin slicer -- I placed the beet cut/even side down on a cutting board and stabbed it with a fork to hold it steady. I cut with a sharp knife to make the thinnest slices I could.
- Put beet slices into a bowl. Stir in a few Tablespoons of oil to coat well. Mix in basil and rosemary. Add salt to taste -- I used 3 turns of a salt grinder. You can always add more.
- Spread evenly in one layer on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
Cook & Serve:
Bake in 350 oven until crisp -- about 35-45 minutes. The time will depend completely on the thickness of your slices. (If you've cut unevenly, the thin slices will burn before the thicker ones cook -- so remove the thin ones when they're done, if that's the case.) When you remove them from the oven, try one and add more salt or herbs as needed.
Serve with hummus or a dip of your choice. Makes a beautiful, colorful (and healthier) addition to a snack tray! They get soft if you store them, so best to eat them right away.
A Little Backstory:
Somewhere along the line I must've tried pickled beets, because all I associate the vegetable with is a sad gelatinous mush that turns my stomach. Why oh why did they torture Gen X Midwestern kids with murky canned vegetables and gross relish trays? When in doubt, go back to the original, fresh thing it started out to be, plucked straight from the ground or tree. (And if you can make it something close to a potato chip, all the better.)
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