Sweet Roots, Hot Dressing

Beets are known for their sweetness. When they are roasted, their flavor intensifies to a rich, earthy one. They need little in the way of added fat to taste good; here, they’re marinated in a horseradish vinaigrette.

The red beet is the most common variety. But you can buy colorful heirloom yellow, white and variegated beets at farmers markets and specialty stores. They look pretty mixed together in this dish.

Beet greens are nutritious and can be steamed and served with the beets, if you wish. Steam the greens about five minutes.

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Roasted Beets With Horseradish Vinaigrette

Active Work Time: 20 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes * Vegetarian

Look for horseradish with beets on grocery shelves alongside regular horseradish.

2 pounds beets

Olive oil nonstick cooking spray

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons horseradish with beets

2 tablespoons minced shallots

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Wash the beets under running water, removing any sand. Trim the greens from the beets, leaving 1 inch of the stems. Do not trim the root end.

Place the beets on a jellyroll pan. Spray the beets with nonstick olive oil spray. Cover the beets with foil and roast 30 minutes. Uncover and continue roasting until fork-tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove the beets from the oven and let them stand just until cool enough to handle. Cut off the stems and peel or scrape off the beet skins. Quarter the beets if they’re small or cut into sixths or eighths if large. Place in a bowl.

Combine the vinegar, water, sugar, beet horseradish, shallots, salt and pepper. Pour the vinaigrette over the beets. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

6 servings. Each serving: 89 calories; 300 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 0 saturated fat; 22 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 2.47 grams fiber.