Roasted Beets, Avocado, and Sunflower Seeds

This recipe comes from Joshua McFadden’s cookbook Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables. We love this cookbook and highly encourage you to add it to your collection!

serves 4

Ingredients
1 pound beets, ideally with pristine greens attached
kosher salt and ground black pepper
extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup salted roasted sunflower seeds
1/2 cup lightly packed roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
4 scallions, trimmed, sliced on a sharp angle, soaked in ice water for 20 min and drained well
1/2 cup lightly packed seeded, chopped pepperoncini
2 firm-ripe avocados

Instructions
Heat the oven to 375°F.

Trim the tops and bottoms off the beets. Wash the greens and spin dry in a salad spinner. Rinse and scrub the beets to remove any mud or grit. Cut up any larger beets so that they are all about the same size.

Put the beets in a baking dish that’s large enough to accommodate all of them in a single layer. Season with salt, then pour 1/4 cup water into the dish. Cover tightly with tin foil and steam-roast until the beets are tender when pierced with a knife. Depending on size, density, and age go the beets, this could take between 30 minutes and 1 hour.

Meanwhile, if you have beet greens to cook, heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add a glug of olive oil, add the beet greens, and toss them until they are wilted and a bit stewed, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool, then chop them through a few times.

When the beets are tender, let them cool until you can handle them, then rub or pare away the skins. Cut into 1/2 inch wedges or chunks and pile into a bowl. Add the greens.

While the beets are still warm, sprinkle with the vinegar, 1/2-teaspoon salt, and fresh-ground black pepper. Toss to distribute the seasonings and let the beets absorb the vinegar for a few minutes. Add a healthy glug of olive oil and toss again. Let the beets sit at room temperature until you’re ready to serve. To assemble for serving, add the sunflower seeds, parsley, scallions, and pickled peppers and toss gently. Peel the avocados and cut them into neat chunks that are about the same size as the beet wedges, and add them to the beets too. Toss thoroughly but very gently, so you don’t mash the avocado too much. Taste and adjust with more salt, black pepper, vinegar, or oil.

Serve right away.