at least I used to. Cold, pickled, boiled… Doesn’t matter, they taste like dirt.
That is, until someone made roasted root vegetables for a family dinner a few yrs ago, and beets were in the mix. Tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper, and some Rosemary…and most importantly, not overcooked, I was pleasantly surprised to find they were actually quite good!
Inspired by the roasted beet phenomenon that changed my Dutch stubborn mind… I decided last summer to try them on the grill with some surprising success! My guests, Bill, and even I, the beet-hater… Loved them.
This past Friday we stopped by our local fruit stand, to see what they had ready. I was disappointed by the slim pickings. No fruit, just bushels & bushels of corn, zucchini (we already have enough to sell ourselves) and little else. The girl at the stand tried six different ways to sell us sweet corn, but we weren’t interested. I didn’t want to leave empty handed, and just before I gave up, I stopped and my eyes fell on this one huge gorgeous deep burgundy beet. We gladly paid $1 and brought the beauty home. We were away for the rest of the weekend, so she sat alone on the counter til tonite…waiting to see what I would do with her.
I’ll get better at this blogging thing, even now as I write, I realize I should have taken a photo of both the fruit stand, and the glorious uncut beet. Instead here you have the sliced beet, rubbed with Evoo, S&P, with fresh chopped rosemary and summer savoury from our garden. Each slice is about 3″ diam.
Next question… What to add to this meal? I have been wanting to try grilled romaine for awhile, and had a few large mushrooms left in the fridge, so I prepared those as well, while also marinating some chicken breasts in the fridge (chicken marinade is Evoo, grated rind from one lemon, 3 minced garlic cloves, crushed black pepper, and oregano)
Here’s all the veg ready to go..
The halved Romaine hearts are lightly brushed with avocado oil on cut side, topped with a sprinkle of steak spice and grated Parmesan
Mushrooms with avocado oil, and a dash of Greek seasoning
Can you smell the grilling beets?
The romaine on my plate was maybe 30 seconds over charred, but yummy (squeezed a little lemon juice on when it came off the grill for the final touch)
This next romaine was done to perfection…
What unusual veg do you like on the grill? What’s something different you’d like to try? Our review: Bill was a little iffy on the romaine, but loved the beets. I enjoyed both, but would do the romaine for shorter period next time, and maybe top with some crumbled “fromage bleu” immediately when it comes off the grill. And perhaps bacon?? 😉
Bon appetit!
