Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Roasted Golden Beets and Eggplant Recipe

Eggplant and beets are both delicious vegetables. They can be a little intimidating however, if you have never cooked with them. Really though, there is nothing very hard about preparing either of them.

Last week I promised I would share the recipe I made using the eggplant and golden beets I bought at the Saturday market.


Photo of Golden beets and Eggplant with title added


Eggplant

If you are chopping eggplant to use pieces in a recipe, the best tip I have found for preparing this vegetable is to peel the skin off in strips.  This way, you still have some of the pretty purple skin in your
dish, but not so much that the eggplant texture is tough.

My vegetable peeler is not sharp enough for this task. I find that scoring the areas I want to peel, and then carefully shaving them off those sections with a sharp knife works best.


peeled eggplant

Eggplant turns brown quite quickly after it is cut. A little discoloration doesn't matter if you are baking it, but for the best appearance, you should prepare it as soon after cutting it as possible.

This article demystifies a lot about cooking eggplant: How to Cook Eggplant.
Fine Cooking also offers a lot of good tips for preparing eggplant.


whole eggplant on a cutting board


Beets

We usually associate beets with a deep red color. They also can be yellowish or orange, a variety which is called a golden beet.  Both red and yellow beets are very nutritious, and the preparation for either is the same. As I said in my previous article, one for the things I like about golden beets is that they don't stain your hands as badly as red ones do while preparing them!

Eggplant and beets being peeled by a big knife on a cutting board

Golden beets don't seem as readily available for purchase as red ones, but I really like to cook with golden ones, or a combination of golden and red, whenever I come across them.

Did you know that it has been found that consuming beetroot juice can help with blood pressure management? Just one more reason to grow and eat these tasty vegetables!


Here is a recipe using both golden beets and eggplant that I prepared last week. 

We loved it.


Eggplant, beets and onion in a decorative display


Roasted Golden Beets and Eggplant

(Printable Recipe: Click here)

Ingredients:
1 eggplant
1 bunch yellow beets
1 medium onion, white or yellow
3 cloves garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper

Method:
1.Prepare a rimmed baking dish by lining the bottom with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Wash eggplant. Peel skin off in strips, then rough-chop the peeled eggplant into bite-sized pieces
3. Cut leaves and stems off the beets and careful pare away the peel. (Yellow beets don't stain nearly as badly as red ones, but if you are worried about discoloring your fingers, you can wear disposable gloves.) Chop into bite-sized pieces.
4. Coarsely chop onion.
5. Cut garlic cloves into thin slices.
6. Combine all of the above, and coat liberally with olive oil.
7.Spread out on parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 20 or 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. Remove from oven when vegetables are all tender, and serve while warm.

Note: This can also be cooked on the grill. Prepare through step 6 then wrap vegetables in well greased aluminum foil, and cook until tender.


a dish of roasted golden beets and eggplant

Roasting vegetables is a wonderful way to prepare them. 
What is your favorite roasted vegetable?

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(post updated 1/30/21)

11 comments :

  1. Yum - this looks delicious! I don't usually cook with eggplant, although I like it. Will give this recipe a try!

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    1. I never had cooked much with egg plant either Lana - but it is far easier to prepare than I had ever thought!

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  2. This sounds yummy ! We are harvesting eggplant...our first year growing it. Thanks for sharing this ;-)

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    1. I bet your eggplant will be wonderful Lori Leigh - how fun to be able to grow it!

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  3. I've never cooked with either one, but this looks delicious!

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  4. Mmmm...
    When I cook red beets, I just boil them intact until nearly done. The skin then peels off with one swipe of your hand. Do golden beets do this as well?

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    1. I suspect they would be the same as red beets Diane. I have peeled them that way as well. The ones I have cooked with have been so tender that it was really easy to just pare off the skin with a knife.

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  5. Beets take a lot longer to cook than eggplant. Should I roast the beets halfway and then add eggplant later?

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    1. Hi Miranda. I'm sorry that I didn't see this question yesterday. I think it depends on the age and toughness of your beets and how soft you like the eggplant. I usually use young, tender ones from my garden or the farmers market and cooke everything the same amount of time. I hope you like the recipe!

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