This is a recipe for roasted beetroot which is served with yoghurt, oranges, hazelnuts and honey. This is a side dish which always gets plenty of interest when I serve it; it's simple and quick to prepare.
The dish is perfect as a side dish to a roast dinner, or as part of a spread for a dinner party, or as part of a meze or tapas style spread.
Ingredients
- Beetroot - first and foremost, this is a beetroot dish. Select beets that aren't too soft and squishy - they should be firm. Choose whichever colour you prefer, but note they taste slightly different - see which beet to choose later in this post. The post has been written with the assumption that regular size beets are used, if you use baby beets you'll need to adjust the cooking time down accordingly.
- Orange - when available, I like to use blood oranges. Use whichever orange variety you prefer.
- Hazelnuts - chopped in half and sprinkled over the top; you can use macadamia, pecans, walnuts or almonds if you prefer.
- Yoghurt - use an unsweetened, unflavored Greek yoghurt.
- A little mint and honey drizzled at the end to make the flavours pop.
How to make the roasted beets
Prepare beetroot - using a vegetable peeler or knife, remove a sliver from the top of the beet to remove the stem, if present. Use a pairing knife to remove the root (1), if present. Peel the beet (2). Wrap each beet individually in aluminium foil (3).
Prepare other ingredients - peel the orange and break the orange into individual segments. Cut each segment in half lengthways. Finely slice the mince, and coarsely chop the hazelnuts.
Cook beetroot - bake for 45-60 minutes until tender.
Prepare serving dish - add the yoghurt to your serving dish and use a spoon to spread it out.
Slice beetroot - use tongs as the beets will be hot. Cut into wedges or chunks. Place on top of the yoghurt.
Orange - Place around the beetroot.
Finish by scattering the hazelnuts, mint, and drizzling with honey.
Tips
- If using red beetroot, wear disposable gloves where possible, and clean your chopping board right after cutting. The beets stain and it takes a long time to get off your skin.
What to serve with these roasted beets?
These beets are fantastic when served as a side dish as part of a roast dinner or grilled protein, or as part of a tapas or meze style spread.
Time saving hacks
Supermarkets sell cooked beets in vacuum packaging - you can use these rather than roasting your own. Don't use pickled beetroot in this recipe!
Which beet variety?
I suggest using either red or golden beets for this dish. Red beets are the most commonly available variety, but it's worth trying golden beets if you can find them.
Red beets have the strongest flavour. They are slightly sweet and have a pleasant earthiness to them. Golden beets are sweeter and more mild than red beets.
Avoid chioggia and white beets because they lack the flavour to stand with the other flavours in this recipe.
Make ahead, reheating and freezing
This dish eats well at room temperature or warm. As such, you can make the beetroot ahead of time and assemble when you're ready. Just allow it to come to room temperature before plating it.
The beetroot can also be reheated easily in the microwave or in the oven - reheat in foil at 160C until warmed through. It will warm much quicker if you put the cut beetroot in a single layer.
Roasted beetroot with hazelnuts, orange, yoghurt and honey
| Prep | Cook | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 10 mins | 50 mins | 60 mins |
- 600g (5-6) beets regular sized; use red or golden varieties - see note 1
- 80ml (1/3 cup) Greek yoghurt unsweetened and unflavoured
- 1 orange, peeled and cut into wedges blood orange works great
- 2 tbsp hazelnuts, coarsely chopped see note 2 for substitutions
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp mint, finely sliced
- Preheat oven to 180C.
- Prepare beetroot - cut a sliver from the top of the beet to remove the stem, if present. Use a pairing knife to remove the root, if present. Peel the beet. Wrap individually in aluminium foil.
- Cook beetroot - bake for 45-60 minutes until tender.
- Prepare serving dish - add the yoghurt to your serving dish and use a spoon to spread it out.
- Slice beetroot - use tongs as the beets will be hot. Cut into wedges or chunks. Place on top of the yoghurt.
- Orange - peel the orange and cut into segments or slices. Place around the beetroot.
- Finish by scattering the mint, hazelnuts and drizzling with honey.
- Beetroot variety - the post goes into which beet variety to use. Use whichever you prefer, but my recommendation is for red and then golden beets. Use regular sized beets - if you use baby beets you'll need to reduce the cooking time accordingly.
- Hazelnuts - sub for macadamia, pecans, walnuts or almonds if you prefer.
