Lemon Roasted Golden Beets

One of my new favorites!

Lemon Roasted Golden Beets
serves 3 - 4

About 1 1/2 pounds golden beets - around 4 larger ones or 8 - 10 small ones
2T olive oil
1/3 cup fresh herbs, chopped - I used oregano, basil, and thyme
grated zest from 1 unwaxed lemon
Salt and white pepper
Juice from 1/2 lemon

Peel beets and slice into wedges.  In an oven proof pan, mix beets, oil, herbs, lemon zest, salt and pepper.  Roast uncovered in a 425F degree oven for about 1/2 hour, or until beets are tender.  Remove from oven and squeeze lemon juice over them.  Mix and serve.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

This is a brussel sprout recipe to serve people who don't think they like brussel sprouts!  Roasting brings out a sweetness and totally does away with any of that bitter taste brussel sprouts can sometimes have.  Fall is a perfect time to make these - use the stalks with little brussel sprouts still attached if you can find them.  Otherwise, buy small sprouts for the best flavor.  Thank you Andy for showing me how to make this!

Roasted Brussel Sprouts - serves 2 to 3
About 30 small brussel sprouts, washed and cut in half
1 shallot, peeled and sliced (I like to separate the rings)
Olive oil
Salt
White pepper
1/2 lemon

1.  In a roasting pan (I use my porcelain covered cast iron braiser), toss brussel sprouts and shallot rings with enough olive oil to coat.  Season with salt and pepper. 
2.  Roast uncovered at 400 degrees for about 30 - 40 minutes.  You want them to be at least golden brown - we like ours a little more toasted.
3.  Remove from oven, squeeze juice from 1/2 lemon over the top, and serve.

Fennel Salad

Fennel is one of those vegetables I never ate before I found out about all my allergies and had to come up with new veggies.  It's now one of my favorites!  This salad is quick to make and satisfies that "crunchy urge" I sometimes get.

Fennel Salad - makes 2 servings
1 large bulb fennel
2 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice
salt
white pepper

Trim the top and bottom from the fennel and slice in half.  If you have any fronds still attached, reserve about 1/4 cup for garnish.  One half at a time, slice the fennel as thinly as you can with a sharp knife.  Combine the rest of the ingredients and toss with the fennel.  Sprinkle with reserved chopped fronds.  You can eat this right away or let it marinate in the refrigerator for about 1/2 hour.

Variations:  This is also good with thinly sliced radishes or apples added.  And I had a variation of it at a restaurant where the fennel was julienned and mixed with julienned apples and sliced green grapes.

Apple/Beet Salad

When you're allergic to lettuce, it becomes a challenge to make salads!  Actually, Jim and I were just talking tonight about how we really don't miss lettuce now that I've come up with other salads.  I'll work on getting them all up here in the next couple of weeks - for now, here's my apple/beet salad recipe.  And I should mention that I am a beet convert!  This is actually really good and so pretty.

Also, with all the talk over the last week about arsenic and apple juice, I found a post on Consumer Reports Health that is quite interesting.

Apple/Beet Salad
serves 3 - 4

3 small beets, about 2 - 3 inches in diameter
1 apple, quartered and cored
2 T toasted sunflower seeds
1T lemon juice
1 T olive oil
About 1 T of fresh thyme leaves
Sea salt
White pepper

Cut the tops of the beets off leaving about 1 inch and boil until tender.  Cool and slip off the skins.

Grate the beets and apple pieces together.  Add the sunflower seeds and thyme leaves.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Mix into the rest of the salad.  Serve warm (as is) or cold.