Roasted Golden Beets, Cippolini and Fresh Figs

One of my favorite and highly anticipated Autumn ingredients is fresh figs. Sweet, juicy, full of flavor and wonderful texture, they are a terrific addition to many dishes. Here in California, where many figs are raised, they have been the little gems of the Farmer's Markets.  Whether it's this vegetable side dish or my favorite holiday dressing, I love cooking with them. Recently I found some that were so purple and plump that they cried out for me to create a new dish. Here is my "Roasted Golden Beets, Cippolini and Figs".

I love roasting beets too, but this dish turned out very special because even though all of the major ingredients are vegetables, all three sweeten beautifully as they roast. The sugars develop so that your final result is satisfying and scrumptious, and works as a great side dish to pork or red meat. It's really a simple recipe but each ingredient is there to complement the others, so that a bite gives you a little of everything. You could also substitute the beets for any number of fantastic dark-fleshed winter squash or edible pumpkins. Let your imagination run! Typically when I prepare beets, I roast them first with skin on to develop maximum flavor and retain as much moisture as possible. In this case, however, I wanted all of the flavors to blend while roasting. So, I peeled the beets before roasting. Little differences in technique like this really determine how much your flavors work together or maintain their individual tastes.

Here's my simple and fast recipe.
Ingredients Serves 4 as side dish

4 large golden beets, peeled and chopped
8 cippolini onions, peeled and left whole
6 fresh figs, rinsed and sliced in half
3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
4 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Method:
1. Wash and peel vegetables. Chop beets and place beets, cippolini onions and figs in a mixing bowl.

2. Add the thyme leave, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to the vegetables in the bowl and toss thoroughly. Spread them out flat on a rimmed baking sheet or shallow roasting pan so that everything is in a single layer.

3. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and roast in the oven 40-45 minutes, until the beets are just fork-tender but not soft. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.