Photo by Michael Piazza / Styled by Catrine Kelty

Hardly a recipe, this is more a suggestion to barely fuss with good strained yogurt, smear it all over a platter, arrange your roasted vegetables prettily on top and shower the whole thing with fresh herbs. I started doing this with grilled planks of zucchini a few summers ago and never looked back—almost any vegetable with a little char or caramelization is terrific prepared this way. Beets work beautifully in fall, but wedges of charred cabbage, cauliflower florets or chunks of sweet potato are equally delicious. Serve it with most any main dish—this is especially good alongside my Spiced Yogurt-Marinated Spatchcocked Chicken, and the vegetables can be roasted in the same oven along with the chicken at 400°F. 

Serves 4–6 as a side dish

1½ pounds beets or other hardy vegetables
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 cup Greek or strained homemade yogurt
2 teaspoons flaky salt, plus more for serving
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
¾ cup chopped fresh herbs, like tarragon, mint and/or dill 

For Beets: Preheat oven to 400°F. Peel beets and cut into 1-inch wedges or dice. Toss with 2 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon salt and freshly ground pepper. Roast until tender, 25–30 minutes, turning halfway through. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

While the beets roast, combine yogurt, remaining 1 teaspoon oil, 1 teaspoon salt and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Roughly chop herbs. With an offset spatula or butter knife, spread yogurt mixture evenly on a platter.

Arrange cooled cooked beets on top of the yogurt mixture, shower with herbs and finish with flaky salt and a few turns of fresh black pepper. 

This recipe appeared in the Fall/Holiday 2020 issue as part of a larger story on DIY Yogurt.