Day 12: Warm Roasted Beet Salad with Mustard Dressing

Yesterday, we made beet greens. Today it’s time to use the beets. One of the nice things about roasting beets is that you needn’t peel them. You just put them in a foil package with some garlic and thyme and roast them. The steam in the package will mean that if you rub the beets with paper towels, the skin slips right off without wasting any beet. Since beets are sweet and the sugar ration in Britain was quite small, beets were often used in dessert recipes in World War II, coming a close second to carrots.  If you have a strong stomach, click here for a war-time Carrot Fudge recipe. *Shudder of horror*

Warm Roasted Beet Salad with Mustard Dressing

1 Serving (side)

INGREDIENTS
3 medium beets
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 sprigs thyme
2 cloves garlic
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sherry or white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Add the beets, 1/2 the oil, the thyme and the garlic. Season them with salt and pepper and gather the corners of the foil to form a foil parcel around the beets. Roast for about 1 hour, or until tender – you can test with a paring knife. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and leave the package closed for about 15 minutes – the steam may burn you if you open it before then, and the condensation will loosen the skin to make peeling easy if you leave the package alone. After 15 minutes, open the package and rub the skin off with paper towels. Discard the skin then quarter the beets. In a mixing bowl, combine with salt and pepper, vinegar and mustard. Toss and check the seasoning. Serve while still warm. If you must have cheese, you can sprinkle goat cheese or shave some hard sheep’s milk cheese over the top. But these are delicious as is, with fish or meat.