Roasted Balsamic Vinegar Glazed Beets

Aren't beets awesome? Look at them, aren't they the most beautiful colour? Anyway, I love beets and I made them for dinner tonight. Here's one of the ways I like to make them - roasted with a balsamic vinegar glaze

^ I can't get over their colour! and all that colour means they are high in antioxidants! ^ 

^ hot chillies, olive oil, fresh rosemary and balsamic vinegar ^ 

^ fresh whole beets ^ 

^ coated and ready to pop in the oven ^  

Recipe:
6 whole fresh beets
2 tablespoons of olive oil
a sprig of fresh rosemary
hot chillies to taste
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

First, peel and slice the beets. Toss with olive oil, hot chillies, rosemary and salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees F in the oven for 40 minutes. While the beets are roasting, reduce your balsamic vinegar in a saucepan over medium heat. When the beets are done, coat them with the balsamic vinegar reduction and serve. A lot of recipes for roasted veggies recommend roasting them in aluminum foil; I have found that roasting them in an oven safe pot (I used a cast iron pot) gives you the same results, but helps save money and the environment too!

Beets are a great source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. I eat them roasted like this, boiled, raw over a salad, and I even add them to my smoothies. I wanted to add a beet "fun-fact" to conclude this post, but I didn't come up with anything... however, I did find out that beets are thought to be an aphrodisiac... who knows if this is actually true, but it's pretty interesting- eat your beets people!

-M