Last week, it was on the cooler side, a bit rainy (for Southern California) and kind of grey outside. I loved it! I wrapped myself in a sweater, drank tea, listened to Nimrod snore, turned this up, and just felt cozy being inside. I took advantage of the drop in temperature to turn on my oven, and basked in the little waves of heat it gave off while inhaling the aroma of fresh focaccia and these earthy, slightly sweet beets and rutabaga.
Repetitive tasks like lining up and spiraling out these paper-thin slices of red and gold beets and rutabaga transport me to a spot where I can relax and focus on only what’s in front of me. I like that. This took about 30 minutes to slice and arrange. Or maybe it was more like 45 … I didn’t really time it. If you lay alternating slices of the three root vegetables in a strip down your palm in a line, you can press sections of it around the pan, starting around the outside, tipping them upwards at a 120-degree angle. You can also lay these beets down flat, which is a bit easier, just start your spiral in the center and work your way out, like I did for this ratatouille.
To make the sections really tight, go back and insert leftover slices of root vegetables in between the slices, and push everything down slightly with the palms of your hands flattened out. Place into a 400-degree oven for about an hour and watch it be transformed from this:
To this! You’ll want to oil your pan before adding the mandolined root vegetables, then be generous with another drizzle of oil to prevent burning. Balsamic and fresh thyme are added after the one-hour bake time, then given another 15-minute bake to finish. Serve with fresh focaccia and a glass of red wine!
Roasted Balsamic Beets + Rutabaga
- Total Time: 1 hours 60 minutes
- Yield: 4
Ingredients
- 3 medium-sized red beets
- 3 medium-sized golden beets
- 3 medium-sized rutabaga
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 TB balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
Instructions
To prepare the beets
- Scrub the beets and rutabaga. Lop off the ends, and peel away the skin with a Y-Peeler or sharp knife.
- Starting with the rutabaga, use a mandoline slicer and slice them all up. Place in one pile. Repeat the process with the golden beets, and finish with the red beets.
- Place about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the bottom of a 6.5-inch cast iron skillet.
- Place alternating slices of beets in a straight line down the palm of your hand. I could fix about six at a time. Place them around the edge of the pan in a tight spiral. Keep working until the pan is filled. When you are done, go back and insert extra slices to make the arrangement tight. Once done, slightly press down on the top to make sure all of the slices are wedged in. Drizzle with more of the olive oil, season with some salt and pepper and set aside.
- Preheat your oven to 400.
- Once preheated, place the skillet into the oven to bake for an hour, checking on it every 15 minutes to ensure the tops are not burning. Drizzle again with a little more olive oil if any portions of the tops start to look singed.
- Remove from the oven, drizzle with the balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with the fresh thyme. Bake for an additional 15 minutes.
- Serve immediately straight out of the pan with crusty bread or focaccia and a glass of red wine.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 75 minutes
This is absolutely stunning and looks too beautiful to eat. Though, I’m sure I could be convinced to dig in haha!
Thank you! Yeah, it was a little sad to “break” the spiral, but nonetheless very tasty! 😉
Looks delish! My fav root vegetables altogether. Gotta go to the store today so this can be dinner. Thanks!
Absolutely amazing. Looks so beautiful. Need to try this.
This looks gorgeous and I’m sure was delicious. I’m just so impressed with all the time you took to arrange it. Talk about a mindfulness activity! We can be mindful even off our yoga mats and meditation cushions. Erin, maybe you’ve discovered the next mindfulness activity” mindful root veggie arranging!
Thanks Ellen! Now that you mention it, this did require a mindfulness similar to taking a yoga class. It was very relaxing! 🙂
I love that first photo! Amazing. 🙂
I must admit I am not a beet lover, especially for their taste. But this recipe seems delicious and I can definitely see myself indulging in it! 🙂
Giving this a try right now!! My spiral didn’t turn out as nice so we’ll see how it turns out!!
★★★★★
Mine was no where as beautiful as yours but the flavors were divine. I don’t think my mandolin slices as thinly and likely I didn’t have enough but so easy and everyone loved it. Thank you so much.
Tammy,
Thanks so much for your feedback! Glad the flavors came through, and I’m so happy to hear that you shared with others and it was enjoyed. <3
Just had to let you know. This summer I was experiencing “garden wealth.” When searching what to do with all those beets, I found your recipe. My hubby and I were gaga. Shortly after, one of my sons visited (so awesome after 2020). He despises beets. I told him it’s all in the way the beets are treated. And he finally agreed to my experiment with him. He was intrigued by the gorgeous arrangement, which helped entice him to taste it. He looooved it. That was this summer. Now he requested it for Thanksgiving dinner!!!
★★★★★