Have you cooked with fresh beets before?
I don’t know about you, but until relatively recently, fresh beets were an ingredient I was always a little intimidated by.
They just seemed…messy!
We’ve all heard horror stories about that pink juice staining hands and clothes. And then after you’ve gone through the trouble of peeling the beets, what do you even do with them?!
Can you relate?
My Tips for Clean and Easy Beets
Well, this recipe is proof that cooking with fresh beets can be easy, clean, healthy, and delicious.
My biggest secret for preparing fresh beets without making a big mess is pretty simple. And basically common sense: peel them over the sink, and use a y-shaped peeler.
Peeling beets over the sink will keep all that pink juice and peel contained in the sink where it’s super easy to clean. And using a y-peeler is more precise than a traditional peeler, so less of that beet gets peeled off.
Which means it’s also less likely to end up on your shirt. !!!!!!!
Roasted Beets!
Beets can be a strong flavor for many. I prefer roasting beets because it brings out their natural sweetness. And roasting beets with potatoes dilutes their earthy flavor a bit, as potatoes are so mild and creamy.
It doesn’t get much more convenient then roasting two different veggies together, and having them both finish roasting to perfection at the same time. That may just be my favorite part of this easy recipe.
The only way to make the beet and potato combo even better in my opinion is to serve it over a bed of arugula with my Creamy Balsamic Dressing, goat cheese (omit to keep vegan), and fresh dill sprinkled on top.
Then you add these goat cheese flatbreads, and you’ve got one elegant and filling meal you should definitely make this week!
A Few Things!
My Favorite Peeler
As I mentioned above, a y-peeler is the way to go. You can find my favorite Kyocera y-peeler here on Amazon [aff. link]. (There are lots of colors, you don’t have to choose pink!). I absolutely love the precision of this y-peeler. There’s a small learning curve if you’ve never used one before, but it’s well worth it, and the precision and time saved once you get the hang of a y peeler it is well worth it!
The Best Olive Oil for Roasted Beets (and Dressing!)
I’ve really come to appreciate the magic that good olive oil can bring to a dish. There are a few applications where a good quality olive oil can truly take a dish to the next level, and roasting veggies and making homemade dressing are two of them.
PJ KABOS olive oil is made in Greece by the Panagiotopoulos family, using Koroneiki olives from their own olive grove. The trees in this grove were planted over half a century ago. I’m telling you, PJ KABOS makes the most delicious and smooth olive oil I’ve ever tasted. I highly recommend using it for this recipe. It compliments the roasted beets and potatoes, and really makes this Creamy Balsamic Dressing absolutely spectacular. It’s also great for just dipping some crusty bread in. Or for shamelessly enjoying all by itself. (Yes, I do that, this olive oil is that good!)
You can find this amazing olive oil here on Amazon [aff. link]. I promise, you won’t be disappointed!
Easy Roasted Beets and Potatoes
Ingredients
For the flatbreads:
- 4-6 flatbreads, I like to use Trader Joe’s Naan Bread
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ small red onion, thinly sliced
- 9 kalamata olives, sliced
- Mascarpone, optional
- Goat cheese or feta
- 1 link Beyond Meat sausage, cut to thin half moons
- Olive oil
- Fleur de sel
For the beets and potatoes:
- 1 pound beets, peeled and diced to ½ inch pieces
- 1 ½ pounds potatoes, peeled and diced to ½ inch pieces (I like to use Yukon Gold Potatoes here)
- ¾ tsp sea salt
- ⅛ tsp pepper
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
For the dressing:
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 pinch of pepper
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- 3 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 ½ Tbsp Vegenaise or mayonnaise
Everything else:
- Arugula, or greens of choice
- Fresh dill, chopped
Instructions
Make the flatbreads
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
- Lay 4-6 flatbreads out on a standard-sized baking sheet.
- On a cutting board, smash 2 garlic cloves with a large knife (whatever your favorite knife for chopping is). Now rub the smashed garlic cloves on each flatbread so the juice from the cloves coats each flatbread.
- Next drizzle some olive oil over each flatbread. Now randomly dollop mascarpone (about ½ tsp dollops) on each flatbread, if using. Now arrange the onion, olives, and Beyond Meat Sausage evenly on each flatbread.
- Last, sprinkle the goat cheese or feta over each flatbread. Use as much or as little as you’d like.
Bake the flatbreads
- Bake the flatbreads for 10 minutes, or until the feta is slightly browned.
- Take the flatbreads out of the oven, and sprinkle each one with fleur de sel and fresh dill.
- Flatbreads are done!
Make the beets and potatoes
- Keep the oven preheated to 375 degrees.
- While the flatbreads bake, peel and chop the potatoes and beets, and prepare them for roasting.
- Place the potatoes, beets, olive oil, and salt on a standard-sized baking sheet.
- Toss everything together, then lay the beets and potatoes out in a single layer on the baking sheet.
Roast the beets and potatoes
- Roast the beets and potatoes for 17 minutes, then take them out of the oven, and flip with a spatula so that each beet and potato piece has a different side face down in the pan.
- Place back in the oven, and roast for an additional 17 minutes.
- Take the baking sheet out of the oven, flip the beets and potatoes one last time, and roast for a final 12-17 minutes. (If you like your potatoes more browned on the outside (like me!) then roast for a full 17 minutes.)
- Beets and potatoes are done!
Make the dressing
- While the beets and potatoes roast, make the dressing.
- Simply whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a bowl until the dressing emulsifies. about 30 seconds - 1 minute.
- Dressing is done, set aside
Put it all together and serve
- For each serving, lay out a bed of greens (I prefer arugula here), then top with the beets and potatoes. Drizzle some of the creamy balsamic over the top, followed by a sprinkling of goat cheese (or feta; omit the cheese to keep this salad vegan) and fresh dill.
- Drizzle some of the creamy balsamic over each flatbread, and serve the flatbread and and the salad together.
- Enjoy!
This Post Has 4 Comments
What a lovely meal. The salad is fantastic, and then when you add the flatbreads to it… wow. Brilliant!
Thanks Mimi! This is definitely a new favorite combo at our house!
This looks amazing, Shannon! I totally understand what you mean, beets can be really intimidating. I got over my fear of them last Christmas when I pickled some beets with red cabbage (delicious) and wore gloves for the grating! But your tips to prep them over the sink is so clever – I must try it out next time I am using beets. Thanks for another wonderful recipe (I am loving that goat cheese)!
Thanks Katerina! Ohh I LOVE pickled beets, you’re making me hungry! Oh yes, definitely, the combo of the beets and goat cheese is so elegant and addicting. 😋