I was recently blessed with an overwhelming bounty from the local produce department.

Seriously.

Upon entering the market, the produce manager, with whom I’ve developed quite a rapport with my specialty requests, offered a basket of fresh flavors fully gratis.

Honestly.

I felt utterly fortunate and full of ambition and readiness to create something new and spectacular.

Truly.

Even with the summer heat, I still enjoy the aroma and scent of oven roasted anything…

So became this beautiful display of oven roasted sunchokes and baby beets.

(Just in case you didn’t know, sunchokes are also referred to as Jerusalem artichokes.  So nutty, so delicious, so perfect).

I braved the heat and the blatant earthy sweetness of candy cane baby beets once again.

Oven Roasted Sunchokes and Baby Beets

2 large bunches baby beets (candy cane or Chioggia for awesome visual effects)
6 large sprigs fresh rosemary
4 cloves garlic
4 medium sunchokes
2-3 Tbs. Kerrygold butter
sea salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large glass roasting pan, add beets (scrubbed and trimmed, but still whole), along with enough water to meet the beets about 1/4 of the way up the dish.  Add rosemary sprigs and garlic.  Cover with foil and cook 30-40 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Once manageable, peel skin and halve to reveal the beauty inside.

Allow rosemary springs to “dry,” and then mince.  Smash the whole cloves of garlic with the back of a large knife.  Set aside.
Scrub the chokes, cut out any eyes, and chop into pieces similar in size to the halved beets.  Roast, covered with foil 20 minutes.  
Remove from oven.
Add halved beets, butter, salt and pepper, minced rosemary, and garlic.  Allow to roast and caramelize an additional 20 minutes, uncovered, until the chokes are soft and just wonderful.

Enjoy the nutty, colorful wonder.

(I felt compelled to provide this photo…simply because of the cool new app we found to colorize black and white.  Exciting!)