beets – Dragonfly Home Recipes

The gorgeous colors in this roasted radish medley reflect its deeply satisfying taste. Radishes, baby beets, carrots, and Cipollini onions are roasted in a sauce of honey, olive oil, wine vinegar, and garlic. Roasting brings out a mellow flavor in the vegetables, especially the radishes. The lightly sweet flavors from the carrots and onions are balanced with the distinctively earthy taste of the beets.

It feels good knowing that these vegetables, grown in the earth, contain lots of vitamins and minerals to infuse my body with good energy. And the bright colors make them fun to work with. I know there are many people who don’t like radishes or beets. But when they are roasted in this flavorful sauce with their mellow flavors released from the roasting, and the melt-in-your-mouth texture, they really are delicious, especially when eaten warm, right out of the oven.

I adapted this recipe from one I found in the May/June issue of Victoria magazine. I find that magazine so inspiring, with its beautiful photographs and stories about women who follow their dreams. I only changed a few things in my recipe–I used orange carrots instead of white, and used baby beets instead of Chioggia beets. Also, I used white wine vinegar instead of Champagne vinegar, and my cooking time ended up taking a few minutes longer.

I find that I really enjoy working with vegetables. As I was peeling the skin off of the onions, I was thinking, you can’t really be in a rush to do this job….but then I realized how often I am in a rush–either in a true hurry to get somewhere on time, or a self-imposed rush to get more and more done. I let go of that feeling for a few minutes and peeled the onions, noticing their smell and their texture, and paid attention to the pretty pink hues of the beets and radishes as I washed them. I noticed that the beet stems look like roses. That the stripes in the beets are amazing. In the middle of a day and evening full of obligations and schedules, there was a window of time when I was present with the beauty of nature.

I am still working on posting some meals that can be ready quickly, or made ahead of time to be eaten when hungry people get home from soccer games and track meets….That is also part of my family’s reality. But for today, I am sharing a recipe that gave me a meditation with the vegetables, and made me feel more in touch with our beautiful earth (and with myself too). If you have a 20 minute window of time (plus about 25 minutes for while the vegetables roast), I highly recommend it. I hope you all have a great weekend! This week, Fiesta Friday is co-hosted by Mollie @ The Frugal Hausfrau and Scarlett @ Unwed Housewife, and I look forward to checking out some inspiring posts over there!

Roasted Radish Medley

Servings: 6
Time: about 20 minutes of prep time, about 25 minutes for roasting
Print

Ingredients:

approximately 1 pound of radishes, washed and trimmed, with about 1/2 inch of the green tops still on, cut in half length-wise
3-4 medium-sized carrots, washed and peeled, cut in half length-wise and then cut in half width-wise
8 ounces of Cipollini onions (you can also use pearl onions), peeled and blanched
4 baby beets (or 2 small Chioggia beets, if you can find them), trimmed, washed, and halved length-wise (it helps if the beet pieces are about the same size as the radishes, so the roasting time works for all the vegetables)
2 tablespoons of honey
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons of butter, melted
1 and 1/2 teaspoons of salt
black pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.

In a small bowl, place the honey, olive oil, minced garlic, white wine vinegar, and melted butter. Whisk to combine.

In a large bowl, combine the radishes, carrots, blanched onions, and beets. Pour in the honey mixture and toss to coat the vegetables evenly. Spread the vegetables on the baking sheet in a single layer, cut side down. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper.

Roast in your 425-degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender when pierced with a fork. Serve warm. Enjoy!

This recipe is adapted from one in the May/June 2016 issue of Victoria magazine

As I was picking basil in our garden yesterday, I noticed that there were some beets we had not pulled up yet. I had been craving something nourishing, so I pulled them and brought them into the house. Since just my daughter and I were home for the evening, I decided to make us a smoothie. It was a rainy evening–perfect for a bright, cheerful, nutrient-rich smoothie. Because I do not have a vitamix or the equivalent, I needed to soften the beets before I blended them, so I simmered them on the stove (washed but unpeeled) for about 15 minutes. When the beets were fork-tender, I was able to easily peel them and put them in the blender with a banana, some yogurt, and a splash of cranberry juice. (The amounts of the ingredients are included in the recipe posted below.) This smoothie was just what we needed: creamy, soothing, and nutritious. Beets are well-known for their abundance of vitamin C, folate (a form of vitamin B), and minerals such as manganese, potassium, and magnesium. And anything that is naturally such a beautiful, bright color has to be good for your body and your soul. If you have some beets and are wondering what to do with them, this smoothie is a delicious option.