Happy Days with Jamie: Roasted Carrots and Beets with Pork Chops

This meal made me happy. It was an impressive meal…it wasn’t difficult to toss together and I learned a few things about beets.

For instance, if you want your veggies to be tender you may pre-boil them for a short time, about 20 minutes. The smaller the beets the better as, they will be more tender after a 20 minute boil (unless you want to cut them into smaller pieces.)

Also, did you know if you handle a hot beet to peel it that you will drop that hot beet on your counter?

Did you also know that a hot beet traveling just a short distance from your scalded hand to the countertop will gain enough velocity to splatter….alot.

Did you know hot beet juice erupting upwards toward your bare arms will stain? They do!!!




Jamie at Home



Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds carrots, mixed colors if available, peeled
1 1/2 pounds beets, different sizes and colors if available
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bulb garlic, broken apart, 1/2 the cloves smashed, 1/2 left whole
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 orange, juiced
A few sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked
A few sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves picked
5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 thick organic pork loin chops, skin on
8 fresh sage leaves
1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Put the carrots into a large pot and the beets into another, and add enough water to cover them. Season with salt and bring to a boil. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes until just tender, then drain and place in separate bowls. Peel the beets, and cut any larger carrots and beets in half or into quarters. Smaller ones can stay whole.



Now add the flavorings while the vegetables are still hot.
Toss the carrots with half the smashed garlic and a tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the orange juice and the thyme leaves and toss again. Mix the beets with the rest of the garlic, the rosemary, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper.

Place the vegetables either into separate ovenproof dishes, or together on a large roasting pan with the carrots in 1 half of the pan and the beets in the other. Place in the middle of the preheated oven and roast for around 1/2 hour or until golden. (I used two different dishes)

While the carrots and beets are cooking, prepare the chops and press a sage leaf onto the meat. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook the chops with about a TB of olive oil, turning over after 8 minutes or so. After that place in the oven until cooked through. (For my oven it was 10 minutes) They were so juicy!



Pour most of the fat out of the pan and add a squeeze of lemon juice to it. Stir and scrape the bits off the bottom and drizzle all over the chops. Remove the carrots and beets from the oven - they should be nice and sticky by now. Serve them with the chops and a glass of wine.


Another tip: When roasting the beets in a pan with the balsamic vinegar mix will result in a burnt mess that is awful to try and scrub out. I wasn’t about to throw out my glass dish so I soaked it in hot water with a bit of Dawn dishwashing liquid and a ½ cup of white vinegar. You still need a bit of scrubbing but I saved my dish.

Next time I will roast beets in an aluminum pan that can be tossed.

A good meal...definitely one we will be having again!



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