Roasted Beets With Hazelnuts and Honey
Behind the rich, jewel-toned palette of this cheerful dish is the sweet, tangy, earthy flavor of beets and a buttery crunch from hazelnuts. A feast for the eyes, this refreshing starter or side also awakens the palate. Labneh packs a bit more zing than sour cream and balances the sweetness of red and golden beets touched with honey. The sumac (or a simple squeeze of lemon juice) and lemon zest brighten and lift everything up. The foil packets for cooking the beets not only make for easy cleanup; they trap steam while roasting to yield the most tender and flavorful beets. All the components can be made ahead at least 1 day before serving (see Tip).
Ingredients
- 3 poundsred and golden beets, unpeeled, trimmed, scrubbed clean
- ¼ cupolive oil
- salt and black pepper
- ¼ cuphazelnuts, preferably blanched (see tip)
- 1 cuplabneh or greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoonlemon zest
- 1 teaspoonsumac or juice from 1 lemon to taste
- 2 tablespoonshoney
- flaky salt
Directions
- 1
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Make two foil packets: Tear off 2 pieces of aluminum foil, each 18 inches long by 12 inches wide. Add the red beets to one side of one piece of foil. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil and season with salt; gently move the beets around to coat them. Fold foil over and crimp edges to seal, trying to keep in as much air as possible (this will help create steam while roasting). Repeat with the remaining piece of foil and the golden beets. (Keeping the foil packets separate prevents the red beets from dyeing the golden beets as they roast.)
- 2
Place both packets on a sheet tray. Roast until beets are tender enough to be pierced with a paring knife without resistance, about 1 1/4 hours. Remove from oven and let packets sit, opened, until beets are cool enough to touch. Keeping them separate, peel beets (see Tip) and cut into large bite-size pieces.
- 3
While the beets cool, roast the hazelnuts on a sheet tray until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. (If your hazelnuts still have their skins, transfer them to a clean dish towel, fold the towel over the nuts and roll off the skins.) Let cool completely, then roughly chop.
- 4
In a medium bowl, whisk together the labneh, half the lemon zest and 1/2 teaspoon sumac. Season with salt and pepper and stir until well combined.
- 5
When ready to serve, spread the labneh mixture evenly on a platter. Arrange the beets on top. Sprinkle on the remaining sumac and lemon zest. Top with hazelnuts. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with flaky salt.