Vegetarian Recipe: Pomegranate and Orange-Glazed Beets

Every week on the Good Food Blog we celebrate Meatless Monday by sharing a vegetarian recipe from our archives.

Amelia Saltsmanis the author of The Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook. She first shared this recipe for Pomegranate and Orange-Glazed Beets on September 15, 2007.

Keep reading for the full recipe…

Pomegranate and Orange-Glazed Beets

24 small beets, 1 to 2 inches in diameter, or 3 lbs larger beets, quartered

1-2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup orange juice

1/3 cup pomegranate juice

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

2-3 Tablespoons chopped toasted pistachios, optional

Preheat oven to 400°. If you haven’t already, cut off the beet greens, leaving 1 inch of stem attached to beets, and reserve for another use. In a large baking dish, toss the beets with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover pan and roast beets until almost tender when pierced with a knife, about 30 minutes, shaking the pan once during cooking time. Uncover, shake the beets again and roast uncovered until tender, about 15 minutes more. When cool, peel the beets using a paring knife (skins should come off easily). The beets may be prepared one day ahead and refrigerated. Return them to room temperature to finish the dish.

Pour orange and pomegranate juices into a large skillet set over medium-high heat and cook until juices are reduced by half and slightly syrupy, about 10 minutes. Add beets and a little salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook the beets, frequently spooning the juices over them, until the juices become a very thick syrup, 6 to 7 minutes. Stir in the tablespoon of butter, reduce the heat as needed to keep the glaze from browning, and stir constantly 1 to 2 minutes until the beets are richly coated and the juices are a thick glaze. Add salt and pepper as needed. Sprinkle with the pistachios.