Roasted Golden Beets with Horseradish Dip

Golden Beets at the Los Osos Farmers' Market. Aren't they beautiful?

I've got beet fever! A month ago I visited a good friend in San Luis Obispo. I was never a big beet lover, but when we bought some golden beets at the local farmers market and she cooked them up, I was a convert-big time. They were tender, sweet and so very tasty. I was hooked.

Flash forward to my return to Phoenix. Not the mecca of fresh vegetables in summer that San Luis is...I searched for golden beets. Just the other day-Paydirt! Our local Wholefoods had a beautiful selection and I dug in.

My recipe for roasted beets is partially from an old cookbook on roasting veggies, and partially from what I had in the fridge and I'm not allergic to. It's that simple. But these were so wonderful, carmelized and yummy, it took every inch of self control not to eat them all in one sitting.

Even if you're not a beet lover, try them. I promise you will change your mind. (Don't let the dip fool you, it's spicy, tangy and a great combo to the sweet, carmelized beets.)


Roasted Beets with Horseradish Dip
6-8 golden beets, scrubbed, peeled and quartered
2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs agave syrup
salt/pepper

Horseradish Dip
2 Tbs Veganaise (vegetarian mayo, or you could substitute sour cream or regular mayo)
1 tsp horseradish
1/2 tsp cayenne

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Peel and quarter beets and place in a large foil square.
3. Mix olive oil, agave and salt/pepper. Pour over beets and mix to cover all. Wrap foil loosely around beets.
4. Place in oven and bake for 1 hour.
5. Test to see if the fork goes in easily. I opened the foil and baked for another 30 minutes to get a beautiful golden carmelization. I'm always surprised at how long beets take to cook.
6. For dip, just mix veganaise, horseradish and cayenne. Serve as a dip with the beets.

These are so sweet and satisfying. And on top of that, they are so good for you. If you can't find golden beets, by all means use the red ones. Just be careful peeling them since they may stain your hands more than the golden beets. But it's certainly worth it.

Enjoy!