How to roast beetroot

[rootypig]

I have been chopping them up into chunks and adding them to my other roast veg, but they go hard. I want them to go squidgy like sweet potatoes. Should I wrap in foil and cook separately? Will this guarantee softness? toddler DD can be put off an entire meal in seconds by a veg with some resistance

yes, rub a little bit of oil on them, wrap in foil and bake.

thanks cakey. In their skins?

like your username

yes, the skin will come off easily once they're cooked :)

thank you! they will probably end up on the floor anyway

Yeah they need at least an hour and a half and tbh they never go as squidgy as a sweet potato, there's always a bit of bite.

thanks Wilson, I will adjust my expectations! they are already a bit shrivelled, that might help

www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/roasted-garlic-and-thyme-beetroot this is really nice

I do love them and always do a little happy dance if I get some in my veg box.

Oh see Westmorland that is when my beetroot goes hard and not soft, when I do it in chunks like that . Don't know what I'm doing wrong hmm

Wilson DH is obsessed with beets, he apprenticed on a Californian Buddhist farm (another story) and met a guy who tried to tell him all about his amazing diet...DH was like yeah yeah, until they were on the back of a truck going out to labour one day and it transpired this guy was 80. DH would have put him at 50 . Raw beets, carrots, and garlic every day apparently.

Have you tried grating them raw for DD? I avoid doing it because it makes the kitchen look like a bloodbath, but she might go for pink coleslaw

I bet Californian beets are softer than our northern European ones. I am not basing that assumption on any kind of scientific fact just sun ratio...

Wilson she does like raw food and I have given her slices of raw beet but her molars aren't all in so she can only get a limited amount down her - but I do think bright colours and raw foods are great and sure in the next couple of months she'll get going a bit more with them. It's still so cold too!

I regret to tell you that Californian beets are also rock hard
The climate in northern California isn't so different from ours, wet winters, if shorter than ours

They do take ages. I put some balsamic vinegar over them too. Next time I might start them off in the microwave for a few minutes, I wonder if that would help. I'm really sad excited because I'm growing all sorts of colours of beetroot this year (providing they actually, you know, germinate and grow and all that)

Boo! There goes all my preconceptions about Cali beets
I do love Californian food, there used to be a great Cali restaurant here which has now closed...

They are very nice Wilson, and so they should be, food in Cali costs a fucking bomb

Ooh balsamic sounds nice Felyne, I agree that different coloured beets are exciting!

Beetroot roasted, and it was fab! thanks all. Am going to try a garlic and thyme variant when I have my arse in gear with a herb box 2050

I have also had a brilliant aubergine tip from MN this week, I'm on a veggie roll

(which is, soak thick slices in cold water for 20 minutes then fry - they soften immediately, soak up little oil, and brown nicely. It is amazing!)