Roasted Beets & Potatoes with Quinoa

We've been having an unusually mild winter, which, to be honest, I am quite pleased about. I've mentioned that I hate the cold, right? (It's the one thing I can't shut up about, I know. I get cold really easily, especially in the extremities.)



We're in the midst of root vegetables season. Normally I'd be yearning for some leafy greens but since my discovery of beets, I don't seem to mind.



I can't get enough of them. There was this one week where I ate so much of it that my urine turned a disconcerting reddish/pink colour. Not to worry, a quick google told me that this can be normal. Or that I am low in iron (which would explain why I am cold all the time.)



I am also obsessed with preserving beets. I had the sweetest preserved beets during my WWOOF tenure in France. I used it to mix it into my salad and didn't even bother with salad dressing because the beet juice would coat everything in its deliciousness. I've been trying to replicate it but am having doubts about my methods.

The recipes I've found online involves a lot of vinegar and sugar but the beets I ate still had that distinct beet taste to it rather than that pickling taste. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I would really appreciate it.



So. Beets. I roasted them because I love the sweet caramalization that happens with roasting. I also threw in some blue potatoes since I can't resist colourful vegetables.



If you're able to get your hands on some fresh beets that still has the greens on them, chop up the beet greens, sautee them with some garlic and throw it into the mix. This recipe (if you can even call it that) is quite versatile: if you want something a little more creamy, adding goat or feta cheese to this dish is really nice. Depending on my mood, I like the dish as is but if the beets aren't as sweet as I want, I do a simple maple syrup vinaigrette to sweeten it up a little bit.

Roasted Beets & Potatoes with Quinoa

As mentioned above, I am currently having a love affair with beets but you can use any combination of root vegetables that you like. Sweet potatoes, squash, etc. would work great as well.

1 lb beets
1/2 lb potatoes
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash beets and potatoes and cut into small cubes. Toss vegetables in some olive oil, salt and freshly ground pepper. Spread in a baking dish and bake for 45 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, rinse the quinoa to wash off the bitter coating. Bring 2 cups of water with 1 teaspoon of salt to a boil, add quinoa and simmer for about 15 minutes. When almost all the water has evaporated, remove pot from stove, cover with a lid and let stand for another 15 minutes. Fluff quinoa.

When the vegetables are done, toss the quinoa into the baking dish and mix. Mixing the quinoa in the baking dish rather than the other way around allows the quinoa to be coated in the sweet caramelization of the beets and the grain turns a beautiful pink.

Variations: adding sauteed beet greens (or any greens really), goat or feta cheese, or a maple syrup vinaigrette (2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil + 1 tbsp maple syrup + salt + pepper) to the dish.