One of my favorite vegetables to grow in our garden in the springtime is beets. I think mostly because I'm inpatient and it makes me so happy to see those little sprouts coming up, even if the weather has been a bit frosty. The issue I have with red beets though, is that honestly, they taste like dirt. I struggle to eat them raw so I usually "candy" them to eat with salads, mostly topped with goat cheese. So while they are still fun to grow, they aren't my favorite.
Golden Beets, however, are the complete opposite to red beets. They're slightly sweet, starchy, and the prettiest color. I haven't grown them before but I absolutely plan to this year. Aside from Kale, Broccoli and Lettuce, Beets are the next best thing for early spring planting. Fortunately for us, Jewel carries Golden Beets quite frequently as do most supermarkets while my poor garden is covered in 2 feet of snow.
This dish uses an assortment of vegetables, all roasted together so that the different flavors come together to create a lovely bite. Golden Beets, Cherry Tomatoes, Red Onions and Chicken tossed in Dijon Mustard and Italian Seasoning. A simple olive oil, salt and pepper toss on the vegetables roasts them to perfection while the chicken cooks. Then finished with a few dollops of Mascarpone Cheese...yum. The cheese melts into all the juice on the pan creating a sauce. My favorite part? This only dirtys up one dish and all the different flavors create an elaborate, bright and flavorful dinner.
So let's start with the Beets. Not only is the color beautiful, they add starch, are great for you, add fiber and vitamin C, and taste delicious. Plus they look like little rays of sunshine, which I think we could all use during this very drab winter.
The next veggie I used were cherry tomatoes. Something about roasting them with just olive oil and salt and pepper. They release their juices that help to keep the vegetables and chicken flavorful and moist in this dish. Lastly, red onions. These just taste great. Especially roasted. They soak up all the flavors while still crisping a bit during the cooking process to add depth of flavor.
To start, I sliced off the ends of my beets and using a peeler, peeled the skin off of them. Then I cut them into bite-sized pieces about an inch long to ensure they all cooked together. I rinsed my cherry tomatoes and dumped them right onto my sheet pan. Lastly, I cut large slices of red onion to sprinkle heavily onto my sheet pan. The last step was to drizzle some olive oil and salt and pepper onto my vegetables.
Next, I tended to the chicken. For this I used chicken breasts. I sliced them in half and then into thirds for each half, essentially making tenderloins. I added them to a ziplock bag, tossed in my seasonings and the dijon mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper, and tossed well to combine. Next I laid it down on my sheet pan with my vegetables all around. It's OK if the pan is crowded, it all cooks together anyway.
Roast for 40 minutes at 400° so that chicken is done and vegetables are tender. The last step is to dollop on about a 1/4 cup of the Mascarpone. Swirl it a bit so that the cheese melts into the vegetable and chicken juices creating a decadent sauce.
Plate, serve, and enjoy :)
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