Roasted Beet Medley with Balsamic Glaze

I don't know what happened. I lost 1517 photos; the chunk between 11/9-11/18 is missing. My heart aches, particularly since I'm unable to share with you my larva story. I could, but without photos it's not fun. Here we pick up where the pics resume. Above includes the crazy looking beets from this recipe as well as the squash with the cranberry relish and walnuts and pork medallions I lost the photos of.

Because beets are delicious and balsamic anything I've tried so far has been awesome, I opted for this recipe.

Roasted Beet Medley with Balsamic Glaze
from Cooking Club, Fall 2011
click to print

5 small red, golden, white and/or Chioggia beets (2 to 2 1/2 inches in diameter)
1/3 c balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp packed brown sugar
1/8 tsp coarse sea salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs, such as basil, dill, thyme, tarragon or chives

Heat oven to 400°F. Trim greens and roots from beets, leaving 1 inch of the stems and roots intact. Reserve greens for another use.

Group beets by color on separate large pieces of foil. Wrap tightly in foil; place on large rimmed baking sheet.


Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until tender. Let stand until cool enough to handle.


Meanwhile, bring vinegar, brown sugar, salt and pepper to a gentle boil in small saucepan over medium heat.


Simmer 5 minutes or until slightly thickened and reduced to 3 to 4 tablespoons, reducing heat to medium-low if necessary; cool. (If cooled glaze is too thick to drizzle, microwave in small microwave-safe bowl until slightly warm and of desired consistency.)


Remove beet skins; trim and discard roots. Holding beets by stems, cut into thin slices; discard stems. Arrange slices on platter.


Drizzle with balsamic glaze; sprinkle with herbs.



The beets were good and the balsamic glaze was good but I didn't like the two combined. They looked horrible and really? Beets don't need a glaze, they don't need jazz. I think they're jazzy undressed. Tell me I'm wrong.

Cost:

• red, golden, white and/or Chioggia beets: $4.66
• balsamic vinegar: $0.89
• brown sugar: $0.02
• chopped fresh herbs, such as basil, dill, thyme, tarragon or chives: $0.50

Total: $6.07 or about $1.52 for each of 4 servings