Beets & Baby Carrots Delight

I love beets. Iserved this as a side dish for a steak dinner tonight, and it was excellent! Try to use both the red and golden beets, to make an attractive dish.The crumbled goat cheese added an extra dimension to the dish, and it went very well with the steaks and the wasabi mashed potatoes (I'll post the recipe for the potatoes).

Ingredients:

3 medium-sized red beets

3 medium-sized golden beets

10 to 12 baby carrots, peeled

2 teaspoons butter

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, or more if necessary

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Chopped fresh dill (or dried dill) for garnish

Goat cheese, crumbled, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F.

Wash and trim the beets; pat dry. Wrap the beets separately in foil (the red beets in one packet and the golden ones in another packet); place packets on a baking pan or sheet, and roast for 1 1/2 hours, or until tender. Unwrap and let cool.

When the beets are cool enough to handle, place each on a paper towel and rub to peel the skin off (the skin should come off easily). Trim the bottom and tip of each beet, and slice into quarters. Put in a bowl separately (so the red beets don’t stain the golden ones), sprinkle a little bit of extra-virgin olive oil and toss to coat. Set aside.

Steam the carrots over simmering water for 5 to 8 minutes. Place in a bowl and toss in a little bit of extra-virgin oil. Set aside.

(The beets and carrots can be prepared ahead up to this point; cover with foil until serving time.)

When ready to serve, heat the butter over medium heat in a large sauté pan, add the carrots and both the red and golden beets, the lemon juice, salt and pepper; toss until just heated through. Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with the dill and the crumbled goat cheese, if using. Serve immediately. Serves 4.