beet

Roasted beets. Heretofore, a method:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Slice the tops off the beets and scrub to remove any crusty bits. Tear off a square of foil for each beet. Pour a little olive oil in a bowl and roll a beet around to coat. Place it on a piece foil with a sprig of thyme and a pinch of flakey sea salt. Wrap up and bake for 90 minutes. Or set the oven to 200 degrees and roast the beets for several hours over a morning or afternoon. The flavor will be superlative.

When you remove the packets from the oven, place them in a bowl to catch any oil and beet juice that might leak. Allow to cool, then remove the skins with your hands, gently rubbing them away. Season with salt and freshly-ground black pepper and dress with a mixture of porto vinegar, dijon mustard and walnut or hazelnut oil. Chill.

Great laid out on endive leaves or under a bouquet of maché with a few roasted walnut halves and a little wedge of fromage bleu Auvergne.