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A simple healthy side dish loaded with flavor, Roasted Miso Glazed Vegetables is perfect alongside a grilled teriyaki chicken breast or Crispy Sesame Tofu. The Asian-inspired orange miso glaze with beets, their greens, and carrots "kicks it up a notch!"
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The beet is the most intense of vegetables. The radish, admittedly, is more feverish, but the fire of the radish is a cold fire, the fire of discontent not of passion. Tomatoes are lusty enough, yet there runs through tomatoes an undercurrent of frivolity. Beets are deadly serious.
~~ Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume
👩🏻🍳 Tamara Talks - About Roasted Beets
I am not certain whether beets are misunderstood, genuinely offensive, or trendy. I do know I love them! Orange Miso Glazed Beets and Carrots is my latest attempt at encouraging my readers to eat more beets. 🙂 Growing up, my experience with beets was limited; beets came from a can.
My mother was a fantastic cook, and we didn't use many processed foods during an era that brought the explosion of processed foods at the supermarket. However, we did have canned beets and canned spinach... Yuck. 😡
It wasn't until a few years ago, when I became a member of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), and started regularly receiving beets in my box, that I began to appreciate the versatility and flavor of this wonderful vegetable. Beets are "good for you," but they're also loaded with earthy flavor, and work well in preparations that run the gamut from salads featuring paper thin, raw sliced beets, to roasted and glazed beets, to classic Ukrainian borscht. If you've not experienced fresh beets, you certainly must give them a try!
My favorite way to purchase beets is a "rainbow" bunch. Visual appeal is a big part of enjoying food, and I find that lots of color on the plate makes the dish taste even better. 😀 The last 2 bunches I've purchased have included the most common red, golden, chioggia (candy cane), and white or albino beets.
Rainbow carrots pair beautifully with the beets, and roast in about the same amount of time. You may wish to include some combination of beets, carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, turnips (baby Japanese turnips with their greens are phenomenal in this recipe!)... Whatever combination you choose to roast, the pieces should be of a similar size so that they're all tender but not overcooked.
📋 Ingredients You'll Need
Here is a quick look at the ingredients in the recipe – it’s handy to use at the grocery store or as a summary of what you need. Skip to the recipe for quantities.
For the Roasted Vegetables
- beets - If you despise beets, substitute another hard vegetable like butternut squash or sweet potatoes.
- carrots - I eat with my eyes, and love to use rainbow carrots for this recipe. Any carrots will do!
- oil - I use both olive oil and refined coconut oil in this recipe. I consider the sesame oil to be more of a flavoring ingredient.
- sesame oil
- sesame seeds - I finish the miso glazed vegetables with a sprinkling of roasted sesame seeds.
For the Glaze
- orange - You will use both the juice and the zest of one small orange or tangerine.
- miso paste - I keep light miso (aka shiro miso) in my refrigerator, and this is what I typically use. Not familiar with miso varieties? Check out The Three Major Types of Miso. Any type should be fine!
- soy sauce - I use Tamari. It's gluten free, tastes less salty, it's darker, and loaded with umami flavor. However, regular soy sauce or ponzu is fine as well.
- garlic
- fresh ginger
- mirin - Mirin is a slightly sweet and thick rice wine. If you don't want to buy an unfamiliar ingredient, try one of these substitutes for mirin.
🔪 Instructions
- I cut the tip and the stem ends off of my beets, then depending on size, cut them into 6 to 8 wedges per beet. Young carrots (such as those picture here) are fine whole. Larger carrots should be cut in half lengthwise.
- When all of the vegetables are prepped, place them in a bowl, and drizzle them generously with olive oil. Add several grinds of pepper and sea salt, and give it all a good toss.
- Spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet. After 30 minutes (24 convection), stir them to flip the cooking edges, then brush them generously with the orange miso glaze.
- Repeat this process until the vegetables are tender and caramelized. Depending on the size of the pieces and your appliance, this process may take an hour plus or minus (20% less with convection).
- I have included the greens in this recipe (they're delicious!), but frequently they've been removed or have succumbed to soft rot. By all means, cook them if they're in decent condition; I use kitchen shears to cut away any bad spots, and swish them in a big bowl of water while the roots are roasting. Drain them well, then coarsely chop. Sauté the chopped greens in a bit of coconut and/or sesame oils just prior to serving. Add to the root vegetables, drizzle with any remaining glaze, then garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
💭 Tips
The key to good roasted vegetables is to roast vegetables with similar sizes, shapes, and cooking times. Beets are HARD vegetables, and take awhile to cook. I try to cut thin wedges to reduce cooking time.
Carrots cook a little more quickly, and young carrots can be roasted whole.
❓ FAQ
I always have somewhat stale tortillas on hand, and this is a great way to use them. I spray tortillas on both sides with non-stick spray, then cut in wedges. Arrange them in a single layer, and sprinkle them with sea salt. Bake them in a 350° oven until golden brown (12-15 minutes).
I combine softened cream cheese (1 package) with about 3 ounces of grated cotija, 1 minced red or green jalapeño, 3 slices of crisp bacon crumbled, 2 chopped scallions. Roll into a ball. Toast ½ cup pecan bits (crush if whole) until fragrant, then mix with about ½ teaspoon red chile powder and ¼ teaspoon salt. Roll cheese ball to coat. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Add ¼ cup sugar (raw, white, turbinado) to a small sauté pan over medium-high heat. Melt. Add a handful of pecan halves. Stir to coat. Pour on to wax paper or foil. Sprinkle with red chile powder and sea salt while very hot.
Lastly, I enjoy recommending a suitable wine or craft beer for my recipes. We liked this dish with a viognier (our favorite is Lawrence Dunham Vineyards); its bone dry stone fruit and mineral finish pairs well with the tangy umami flavors of the dish. You might also enjoy a dry riesling or pinot grigio. If you prefer a red wine, pinot noir is a good option. Craft beer lovers might enjoy this with the complex flavors of a Belgian (my personal favorite beer style). Whatever your drink of choice, I do hope you'll buy a beautiful bunch of beets and give this recipe a whirl!
Do you have a "beet story" to tell? I know people that have traveled and were dismayed to find "beetroot" on a burger. 🙂 If you don't like them, were they fresh? I would love your thoughts!
📖 Recipe
Miso Glazed Roasted Vegetables
Ingredients
Vegetables
- 1 bunch beets with greens - about 2 pounds*
- 1 to 2 pounds carrots - I love rainbow*
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- sesame seeds to garnish
Glaze
- zest and juice of 1 small orange or tangerine*
- 1 tablespoon tamari*
- 2 tablespoons miso paste*
- 1 teaspoon garlic - minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger - minced
- ¼ cup mirin
- * See Notes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees (375 convection).
- Toss the prepared root vegetables with a generous drizzle of olive oil, and a few grinds of sea salt and pepper. Arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet.
- Roast the vegetables 30 minutes (24 minutes convection). While the vegetables roast, whisk together all of the ingredients for the glaze.
- After 30 minutes (24 minutes convection), give them a stir, then brush generously with the glaze. Return the pan to the oven for an additional 10 minutes (8 minutes convection). Repeat the previous step until the vegetables are tender.
- While the vegetables roast, prepare the greens. Clip away any bad spots and the stems. Swish them around in a large bowl of water. Drain them, then coarsely chop them.
- When the vegetables are nearly cooked, stir-fry the greens in the coconut and sesame oils until wilted.
- Toss the wilted greens with the roasted vegetables, pour remaining glaze over top, then toss well to combine. Garnish with sesame seeds if desired. Serve hot or at room temperature.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
NOTE: Macronutrients are an approximation only using unbranded ingredients and MyFitnessPal.com. Please do your own research with the products you’re using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.
🥕 What to Serve with Miso Vegetables
Revathi Palani says
The veggies looks so delicious and flavorful. Looks like and interesting way to make anyone eat their veggies 🙂
Tamara says
Perhaps! I'll have to try it on my grandson 😉
Emma @ Supper in the Suburbs says
I love the heritage veggies you've used in this dish. Often people think of carrots as orange and beets as purple but the other varieties on offer are so delicious in their own right! What a wonderful way of showcasing them.
Tamara says
Thanks Emma! I get pretty excited selecting veggies and finding new ways to use them 🙂
Kavey says
I adore miso glazes but have never thought to combine with root vegetables before. Beautiful dish!
Tamara says
Earthy beets and carrots pair so well with the tangy citrus and umami flavor of the miso. You should try miso next time you roast root vegetables! Thanks so much 🙂
Mark, CompassandFork says
Love the quote at the top of the post. Classic treatment for these vegetables Yum.
Tamara says
Thanks (especially) for your comment on the quote 🙂 I guess I'm a quirky writer, but that's how I think...
Tracy | Baking Mischief says
CSAs are so great for introducing you to new veggies! I volunteered a couple of times at one during college and I was always amazed by the variety of fruits and veggies they produced. Half of them I had never even heard of.
This recipe looks delish! I love including beets in root vegetable medleys because they break up the beige of my other root veggie faves so nicely. I've never tried them with Asian flavors before though, so I'm saving this to try.
Tamara says
I roast all kinds of vegetables, but I think beets are my favorite! I think you'll love them with the Asian flavors 🙂