roasted beets w/ mascarpone,pistachios,prosciutto & balsamic

i am SO excited to share this little recipe with you!!

beets can be an iffy thing. you love them or you don't.

 "they bleed a gorgeous color", i always thought... 

"but other than that, aren't they just similar to turnips?" 

and turnips always make me think of molly, the american girl doll, and how she had to sit and eat

 lukewarm mashed turnips as part of her sacrifice for the war effort. 

i adored molly when i was little and always felt sorry that she had to eat those turnips!

i digress!

prior to this year, the only way i had ever had beets was pickled (still haven't found a kind i like) or in

 russian borscht... a soup that was actually yummy (when served with dollops of sour cream of course!).

then while in chicago with my aunt this spring for our birthdays, we ordered roasted beets and i fell in love! 

they were chunked and served with pistachios and goat cheese and it was

 the first time i'd ever experienced that yummy combination! 

i loved them so much that i couldn't help but order them again

 while in seattle a month later.

 this time they were sliced, served on a bed of arugula and topped

 with mascarpone, pistachios and balsamic vinegar. 

and of course i loved this version even more! 

when i finally got around to making the dish at home, 

i opted for mascarpone cheese over goat cheese because it was 

less expensive and then tossed on a little toasted prosciutto for added flavor and texture. 

i'm all about layered flavors & textures and i think

 that's one of the reasons why i love this dish so much! 

you have the slightly sweet beets, crunchy nuts, smooth cheese,

 crispy meat & salty balsamic all coming together in a beautiful arrangement!

so without further ado, i present >> roasted beets

(keep scrolling for recipe)

> preheat your oven to 400

>scrub your beets clean and then lay on a sheet of foil

> drizzle olive oil over the beets and fold the ends of foil together to make a little pocket

> lay pocket on a cookie sheet & roast for 45 minutes to an hour,

 or until beets are very tender when prodded with a fork

 (turn foil pocket over half way through)

>chop a handful of pistachios then set aside

>when beets are finished roasting, pull them from the oven and let them set 

until they are cool enough to handle

>while beets are cooling, toss a few strips of prosciutto and a teaspoon of olive oil together 

on medium heat. set aside when crispy

>rinse beets under the tap, peel of the outer skin & slice off the ends

>slice or chunk the beets and lay them on your plates

>top with dollops of mascarpone then sprinkle with pistachios & prosciutto

>drizzle with balsamic vinegar and serve!

(p.s. i use the balsamic generously to really bring out the flavor in each bite! this time

 i used a fig infused balsamic that was really yummy!)