Super healthy, super colorful and super delicious!  Roasting our organic baby beets really brings out their natural sweetness.  Roast them with garlic, sprigs of fresh rosemary, extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper, then dress them with a tasty and tangy tarragon vinaigrette.

Preparation Time:  30 minutes

Cooking Time:  1 hour

Serves:  6

Ingredients:

• Roast baby beets:
  • 1 lbs each baby red, gold, and candy striped beets, washed, leaves removed.
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 5-6 sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • A pinch of kosher salt
  • 3 or 4 turns of a pepper grinder
• Tarragon vinaigrette:
  • Leaves from 6 sprigs of fresh tarragon, washed, minced
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (white, sherry or even balsamic ok)
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 2 tsp minced shallots
  • 1/2 tsp minced garlic
  • Kosher salt to taste
  • Black pepper to taste

Preparation:

• Preheat the oven to 400F.
• If the beets came with their leaves remove the leaves but leave about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of the leaf stems on the beets.  Do not discard the leaves.
  • The leaves can be cooked as well but we’ll leave that for another recipe.
• Wash the beets really well; set aside.
• Peel and mince the shallots.
• Peel and mince 1 small clove of garlic (for the vinaigrette).
• Peel and leave whole 2 cloves of garlic (for roasting with the beets).
• Wash and pat dry the fresh tarragon sprigs, remove the leaves from the stems, discard the stems and mince the leaves; set aside.

Cooking:

• Place the beets, garlic cloves, and sprigs of rosemary on an aluminum-foil lined baking tray.
• Drizzle the evoo over the beets, move around the beets on the tray to coat them in the oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Place the tray in the preheated oven and cook for about 1 hour or until a sharp knife can enter the beets easily.
• Remove the tray from the oven and allow the beets to cool.
• Using a paper towel rub the skin off the beets.
• After the skin has been removed from all the beets quarter or halve the beets depending on their size into bite size pieces, place them in a non-reactive mixing bowl.
• Make the vinaigrette:
  • Place the shallots, garlic, tarragon, vinegar and mustard in a small non-reactive mixing bowl, while whisking quickly, slowly drizzle in the evoo.
  • Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Pour the vinaigrette into the bowl with the beets, mix well but gently.  Spoon into a serving bowl.
• The roasted organic baby beet salad with tarragon vinaigrette is ready!

Enjoy!