Bietole Al Forno Roasted Beets With Asparagus Food

SIMPLE ROASTED BEETS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Cut off the leafy tops of the beets, leaving about 1/2 inch of stem, and reserve them for another use. Wash the beets well to remove all of the sand.
• Toss the beets with the oil, 1 tablespoon water, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a large bowl. Transfer the beets to a large piece of foil, add the herb sprig if using and wrap the foil up into a packet. Put the packet on a baking sheet and roast until fork-tender, 40 to 50 minutes depending on the size of the beets. Carefully open the packet, watching out for steam. Let the beets cool for 5 minutes, then peel while still warm by rubbing off the skins with paper towels.
• Slice and dress the beets as desired and serve.

THE BEST ROASTED ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a wire rack.
• Put the asparagus, olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Toss to coat evenly. Spread the asparagus in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Roast for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned and tender, but still bright green.
• Meanwhile, spread the Parmesan evenly in the bottom of a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook undisturbed until the cheese melts, sticks together and turns golden brown, about 2 minutes, then flip with a rubber spatula and cook until golden on the second side, about 2 minutes more. Transfer the frico to a wire rack-lined baking sheet to cool completely, about 2 minutes. Break the frico into small crumbles and put in a small bowl. Add the lemon zest and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and toss to combine.
• Transfer the roasted asparagus to a serving platter and squeeze the fresh lemon juice over the top. Top with the crumbled frico mixture.

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST ROASTED BEETS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450°F. Cut the greens from the tops of the beets and save for another use, then trim the bottom of the stems and discard. Scrub the beets under cold water, pat dry with a paper towel and place in a bowl. Toss with the olive oil and generous pinches of salt.
• Place the beets in a baking dish and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 1 hour for large beets, or about 45 min for medium. The beets will be done when you can easily slide a sharp knife into their tender centers. Set aside to cool enough to handle.
• To peel, trim the ends then use a paper towel in each hand to rub off the skins. If you don't want your hands to get red, wear plastic gloves. Toss with more olive oil and salt and pepper and garnish with fresh thyme or chopped chives.

MY FAVORITE BEET SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Place the beets into a large bowl, and drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Lay out 2 large squares of aluminum foil on a work surface, and place 3 beets onto the center of each sheet. Fold the aluminum foil into 2 envelopes, sealing the beets into the packets; place the packets into a baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Check for tenderness after 1 hour by piercing a beet with a fork. Open the foil, and allow the beets to cool until they can be handled; peel, and slice.
• Lay out the spinach leaves on an attractive oblong-shaped serving platter. Sprinkle pieces of tomato and avocado over the spinach leaves, and top with chopped red onion. Lay the sliced warm beets over the salad, and top with crumbled feta cheese.
• Whisk together balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup of olive oil, and Dijon mustard until smooth; pour over the salad to serve.

ROASTED BEETS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Remove the tops and the roots of the beets and peel each one with a vegetable peeler. Cut the beets in 1 1/2-inch chunks. (Small beets can be halved, medium ones cut in quarters, and large beets cut in eighths.)
• Place the cut beets on a baking sheet and toss with the olive oil, thyme leaves, salt, and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, turning once or twice with a spatula, until the beets are tender. Remove from the oven and immediately toss with the vinegar and orange juice. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve warm.

ROASTED BEETROOT (BEET), BLOOD ORANGE, RED WITLOF (BELGIAN ENDIVE) AND ASPARAGUS WITH ORANGE OIL

Steps:

• To make the orange oil, reduce the citrus juices over medium heat until syrup-like then cool to room temperature. Whisk in or blend an equal amount of grapeseed oil and reserve.
• Meanwhile, roast the beetroot. Preheat the oven 350 degrees. Trim the stems of the beetroot, leaving 1/2 inch. Wrap the stems in foil and roast the beetroot in the oven for one hour. Allow to cool, then peel and cut each beetroot into 12 wedges.
• To make the walnut vinaigrette, whisk together the walnut oil and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• To serve, toss the whitloof, frisee, and mache leaves in the walnut vinaigrette and place in the center of the plate. Arrange the beetroot, blood orange, asparagus and pine nuts over the greens. Drizzle with orange oil and serve.

ROASTED FRESH ASPARAGUS, BEETS, AND GOAT CHEESE MEDLEY

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425º F. Wash asparagus and cut off the tougher bottom parts of the stems. (Don't snap the ends as you lose too much of the asparagus). If sizes vary dramatically, slice the largest asparagus stems lengthwise. The asparagus can be chopped uniformly into halves or thirds or left whole.
• Wash and peel beets and slice into small cubes. Place asparagus and beets in a large bowl. Add olive oil, seasoning, and thyme and toss until completely coated.Cover baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange asparagus and beets on the sheet so they are spread out and not overlapping. Use a spatula to gather any remaining oil and seasonings to drizzle over the arranged vegetables. Bake for 15-20 minutes until beets are tender then remove them from the oven. Pile the asparagus and beets into the middle of the baking pan. Add cheese, fruit, and almonds. Bake another 10 minutes.

RIGATONI AL FORNO (BAKED RIGATONI) WITH ROASTED ASPARAGUS AND ON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°; put a large pot of water on to boil.
• Pour olive oil into a 9x13 glass baking dish; break up onion chunks, add to pan and stir to coat in oil; leave pan uncovered, place in oven and roast onions 5 minutes.
• Add pasta to boiling water.
• After onions have roasted 5 minutes, add asparagus; stir and sprinkle with the salt; spread it all in a single layer and roast 5 more minutes.
• Drain pasta when al dente; stir into vegetables and add vinegar, pepper and parmesan; mix well; sprinkle bread crumbs on top; cover with foil and return to oven.
• Bake until bread crumbs are brown and crisp, 10-15 minutes.
• Serve hot with a cruet of balsamic vinegar.

ROASTED BEET AND ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• The Beets: Wash and dry the beets well. Rub them with the 1 1/2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Place them in a baking pan with 1 ounce of water. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 40 minutes to 1 hour & 15 minutes or until they are fork tender. Allow the beets to cool. Peel off the outer skin and small dice. This should yield about 3 cups. Place the diced beets, blood orange oil and cilantro in a bowl and toss. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper. Reserve in the refrigerator.
• The Asparagus: While the beets are roasting, blanch the asparagus in salted boiling water for about 3 minutes until it is tender and bright green.
• Shock the asparagus in ice water for about 3-5 minutes or until it is cold throughout . Dry the asparagus and chop it into a small dice. This should yield about 3 cups. Reserve in the refrigerator.
• The Dijon Vinaigrette: While the beets are roasting or a couple of days in advance, combine the egg yolk, Dijon, and vinegar in a bowl. With a wire wisk, mix the ingredients well. Slowly in a steady stream, drizzle in the oil to form and emulsion. Add the parsley, chives and shallots. Mix well and season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper. Reserve in the refrigerator.
• The Moroccan Spice & Almonds: While the beets are roasting, or 1 day before, remove the zest from 1 orange and place in a small oven proof container in the oven to dry out, watching constantly as not to burn it.
• Once the zest is dry allow it to cool. In a coffee grinder, add the cardamom, broken cinnamon stick, allspice & cloves and grind until fine.
• Pour the spices into a small bowl. Grind the dry orange rind in the same fashion and add it to the other spices. Add the sugar and salt and mix well with a fork. Reserve in an airtight container.
• Toast the almonds in a dry saute pan over medium heat on the stove until lightly golden brown. Drizzle the 1 Tablespoon of oil on the almonds and continue to toast for another 30 seconds. Pull the almonds off the heat and pour them evenly onto a cookie sheet. Sprinkle the almonds with about 1 - 1 1/2 Tablespoons of the Moroccan spice and continue to toast in the oven for approximately 1 - 2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Reserve.
• To Build the Dish: Remove the beets, asparagus, vinaigrette & cheese from the refrigerator 1/2 an hour before serving. Add about 2 - 3 ounces of the Dijon vinaigrette to the asparagus and toss well. Season to taste with salt & pepper. In a round mold or free style, divide the asparagus onto the center of 6 plates. Add a layer of the dressed asparagus on top of the beets. (If you are using a mold, you will need to layer the beets and then the asparagus onto one plate before removing the mold and repeating onto the second plate and so forth.) Toss the field greens in some of the blood orange oil and place some of them onto the asparagus. Place 1 piece of Maytag blue cheese on top of the greens. Sprinkle each plate with the almonds. Garnish each plate with drizzles of Dijon vinaigrette, blood orange oil and chopped chives.