March 20, 2024

Lemony Beet Bliss

Name: Lemony Beet Bliss
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 65 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds mixed small or medium beets (any color, preferably all sized similarly); 6 tablespoons olive oil (divided, plus more); pinch of Kosher salt and (freshly ground pepper); 2 tablespoons lemon zest (grated, and some extra for garnishing); 2 tablespoons lemon juice (freshly squeezed); 1/4 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, whole or torn, plus more; 2 tablespoons torn fresh dill (plus more); 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream)

I love the flavors, textures and colors in this recipe but it’s the pan searing of the beets that differentiates this beet recipe from most others. The pan searing creates these delicious little crispy bits on the beets that are so satisfying. And pairing the beets with dollops of greek yogurt, gives this dish just the right amount of extra zhuzh. Lemony Beet Bliss will put a satisfied, even blissful smile on your face.

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Ingredients

Organize the ingredients – whole unpeeled beets (ideally a variety of colors which my market didn’t have), lemon, greek yogurt, olive oil, dill, mint, kosher salt and pepper.

Roasting the Beets

Preheat oven to 400°. Wrap foil around each beet. Place wrapped beets on a baking sheet. Roast until tender, 40-50 minutes. Let cool slightly, then, using a paper towel or gloves, rub skins from beets, (they will slip off easily). Beets can be roasted one day in advance.

Crushing and Seasoning the Beets

The beets I used were large so I cut them in half and crushed them with a bowl.

Season both sides of the beets with kosher salt and black pepper.

If the beets are on the larger side as mine were, halve or quarter them before crushing. Then take cooked beets and crush each beet with the bottom of a small bowl (it’s alright if they fall apart). Season both sides of beets with kosher salt and pepper.

Browning the Beets

Heat oil in the pan on medium-high heat and carefully place beets in the pan. Cook for 4 minutes or until the bottom side has browned.

Flip beets over and cook for an additional 4 mins, until the beets have fully browned, 8 mins total

Heat 2-3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Then carefully add beets to the pan and cook until browned, about 4 minutes per side, 8 minutes total.

Making the Lemon Vinaigrette

Make the lemon vinaigrette by whisking lemon zest and juice together with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Set aside.

While beets are browning, whisk lemon zest, lemon juice, kosher salt and pepper (to taste) and 2 tablespoons oil in a large bowl, large enough for the beets to fit so that you don’t have to dirty another bowl! Set vinaigrette aside until ready to use.

Mixing the Beets with the Vinaigrette and Herbs

Place the lemon vinaigrette in a large bowl and add the dill and mint to the vinaigrette

Lastly, add the beets to the bowl. Toss to coat.

Transfer beets and most of the dill and mint (reserving some for garnishing) to the vinaigrette. Toss beets to thoroughly coat with the dressing and herbs.

Lemony Beet Bliss

Place the beets on a medium sized platter and add a few dollops of yogurt in between the beets, Drizzle with more oil, top with more herbs, and season with more salt, if needed.

Print Recipe

Lemony Beet Bliss

Prep Time15

Cook Time50

Total Time1 5

Course: Side Dish, Vegetable

Cuisine: American

Keyword: beets, Dill, gluten free, greek yogurt, lemon juice, lemon zest, mint, olive oil

Servings: 4 people

Author: GFchow @ gfchow.com

Ingredients

2 pounds mixed small or medium beets any color, preferably all sized similarly
6 tablespoons olive oil divided, plus more
pinch of Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons lemon zest grated, and some extra for garnishing
2 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
1/4 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, whole or torn, plus more
2 tablespoons torn fresh dill plus more
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°.
Wrap foil around each beet. Place wrapped beets on a baking sheet. Roast until tender, 40-50 minutes. Let cool slightly, then, using a paper towel or gloves, rub skins from beets, (they will slip off easily). Beets can be roasted one day in advance.
Take cooked beets and crush each beet with the bottom of a small bowl (it's alright if they fall apart). If the beets are on the larger side, halve or quarter them before crushing.
Heat 2-3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season both sides of beets with kosher salt and pepper. Then carefully add beets to the pan and cook until browned, about 4 minutes per side, 8 minutes total.
While beets are browning, whisk lemon zest, lemon juice, kosher salt and pepper (to taste) and 2 tablespoons oil in a large bowl, large enough to fit the beets. Set vinaigrette aside until ready to use.
Transfer beets and most of the dill and mint (reserving some for garnishing) to the vinaigrette. Toss beets to thoroughly coat with the dressing and herbs.
Place the beets on a medium-sized platter and add a few dollops of yogurt in between the beets, Drizzle with more oil, top with additional herbs, lemon zest and season with more salt, if needed.

Notes

Some toasted, chopped nuts (pecans, hazelnuts, macademia, walnuts, etc) sprinkled on top would be delicious.

Add raw or pickled red onions to change it up!

This recipe can easily be made for a larger crowd.

Recipe from Bon Appétit with slight modifications on how to roast the beets.

If you like this recipe, you may also like these other GFchow recipes. Roasted Beets (Red and Golden), Chilled Summer Beet Soup, and Roasted Beet Salad with Feta and Pecans.

GLUTEN FREE DISCLAIMER

The recipes you find here are considered by me to be gluten free. However, it is up to you to make sure the ingredients you use are gluten free. Whenever possible, I will list specific brands of ingredients that I use, but always be sure to check the labels yourself to verify the item is gluten free.