Roast beets, onions for sizzling side dish

A little salt and sugar, a pair of vegetables whose sweetness is easily coaxed, and butter: That’s all you need to roast the easiest unexpected side dish of summer. The combination works in the oven or in the embers of a grill.

Serve over couscous or alongside grilled meats.

Foil-Roasted Beets and Vidalia Onions With Butter, Lime and Sea Salt

1 tablespoon sea salt, plus

more for garnish

½ cup sugar

4 large beets, trimmed and

scrubbed well

4 Vidalia or other sweet

onions

8 tablespoons unsalted butter ¼ cup packed fresh mint

leaves (optional)

Lime wedges, for garnish Heat oven to 425 degrees. Mix together the salt and sugar in a small bowl. Cut 16 (8inch) squares of aluminum foil, then use them to create eight sets of two-ply foil squares.

Place 1 beet on each of 4 squares; same with the onions. Top each with 1 tablespoon of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the salt-sugar mixture. Top with a few mint leaves, if desired.

Wrap each into a tightly sealed packet, placing them all on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for about 1 hour, until tender with some caramelized edges.

Alternately, the foil packets can be cooked directly on the coals in a grill, which can take up to 1 ½ hours, depending on the strength of the heat.

Carefully open each packet, avoiding a rush of steam. Transfer the vegetables to a cutting board; cut the beets into halves or quarters and the onions into bite-size pieces. (If you would like more edges to be caramelized or look a bit charred, place the vegetables directly on the baking sheet and roast for another 10 to 15 minutes.)

Serve warm, with pan juices, a squeeze of juice from the lime wedges and a sprinkle of sea salt.

Makes 4 to 8 servings.

Adapted from Turnip Greens & Tortillas: A Mexican Chef Spices Up the Southern Kitchen by Eddie Hernandez and Susan Puckett