Sticky & Sweet Roasted Beetroot

I love beetroot in all shapes, sizes and tastes.  When I was pregnant with no. 1 son, my grandmother could not pickle beetroot fast enough to cope with my cravings!  Today I tend to prefer my beetroot unpickled and I love it hot.  I found this recipe in River Cottage Everyday and absolutely loved it.  It is soooo easy and yet gloriously decadent tasting, sweet and delicious without the calories!

Preparation and cooking: about 1 hour 15 minutes


Ingredients

about 1kg beetroot
1 large rosemary stem, broken into little sprigs
1 head of garlic, broken into cloves, skin left on, each lightly squashed
3 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method


Peel the beetroot, cut them into thick wedges and place in a roasting dish. Add the springs of rosemary and squashed garlic cloves, trickle on the oil and season generously. Toss everything together, cover the dish with foil and roast in an oven preheated to 190C/gas 5 for 40 minutes [maybe less for our small Camel CSA beets], or until the beetroot is almost tender.
Remove the foil, trickle over the vinegar, give everything a good stir and return to the oven. Cook uncovered, stirring again once, for another 30-40 minutes or until the beetroot is starting to caramelise. Serve straight away or leave to cool.

I have also just bought the new River Cottage Veg Everyday cookbook and it is wonderful.  The couple of recipes that I have tried so far have been great and I will let you in on them soon.  But I do highly recommend it as a good read with mouth watering pictures and lots of easy and accessible recipes.  (And I didn't even get paid for that plug!)