BEETS ROASTED IN FOIL AND BUTTERED

Some say that the sweetest red beets are those that are roasted in their skins, peeled, then quickly heated in a film of butter.

RECIPE: Beets Baked in Foil and Buttered
Adapted from Mark Bittman, “How to Cook Everything,” John Wiley & Sons, 2008) Bittman writes: “This is the best method for cooking beets. It produces beets that are firm and not at all waterlogged. And it’s easy, neat and convenient.” Serves 4-8 depending on size of portion.

Ingredients
Upwards of 2 pounds raw beets, close in size each (4 large or 8 medium or small)
Heavy-duty aluminum foil
2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter, to taste
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Optional: orange peel zest

Directions
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash the beets well and trim them lightly (that is, trim the tails to 1/2-inch or less and leave a small stub at the stem, or else they will bleed all over themselves). At this stage, do not peel the beets.

Dry the beets and massage each with a coating of good olive oil. Wrap them individually in foil (they’ll resemble giant chocolate “kisses”) and put them on a cookie sheet or roasting pan, with space in between each. (Some may leak.)

Bake, undisturbed, for 45-90 minutes, until a thin-bladed knife pierces each with little resistance. (Based on their size, they will cook at different rates; remove each one when it is done). When beets are cool enough to handle, unwrap the foil and rub and slip off the skins (under slowly running water sometimes helps).

Cut the beets into chunks no larger than a 1-inch across. Add 2-3 tablespoons butter to a large skillet, with (if desired) 1 additional tablespoon of the olive oil used previously. When the butter is melted, swirl it in the pan, add the beet chunks, raise the heat to medium-high, and toss the beets for a couple of minutes, coating the chunks well.

Sprinkle with an unholy amount of kosher, sea, or finishing salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with orange zest, if desired. Serve forth.