Roast Beets and Feta Cheese

With Valentine's Day coming up on Friday, our thoughts may be turning toward creating a special meal for the occasion.  It's fun to think about chocolate and sweets, but don't forget to include something a bit more savory.

One possibility that includes in season root veggies, is a simple Beet and Feta salad or side dish.  Beets are a naturally sweet vegetable that comes in a variety of colors from the familiar dark red to a brilliant yellow.  Their flesh is juicy and quite nutritious as well as delicious, and they're a visually appealing addition to a special meal.

Preparing them is simple, as long as you take due care to protect your work surface from stains.  The easiest way to cook a beet is to scrub them, put them into a foil lined baking dish, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, then wrap the foil loosely around the beets, and let them cook at 400F for about 45 minutes.

(Take note - the beets in my picture did not come with the greens intact, and the stems were cut all the way to the beets. If you can get them with the greens on, that's better! Cut the greens about an inch away from the beet and set them aside.  Leaving a little creates a handle, and makes them less messy to deal with.)

Once they're done, the skins will slide off fairly easily (or can be cut away with a paring knife).  Chop the beets into bite sized chunks.

I had a pair of red beets, and a pair of golden beets when I made this, and I really loved how the colors played together - the golden beets wound up stained by the deeper red beets, giving them a rosy pink color.  I simply sprinkled a nice bit of feta cheese over the top to serve.  Goat cheese would have been great here, too!

We chose to just have the beets and feta, but this could easily be made more substantial, by nestling the beets in a bed of mixed lettuces (or steamed beet greens!).  I didn't find that they needed any additional dressing, but a very simple lemon and olive oil dressing would have worked, or for added sweetness, a drizzle of honey over the top.

If you haven't experienced fresh beets, give them a try.  The play of reds and white will add a festive and special touch to your Valentine's Day dinner of your loved one's favorite dishes.

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