Japanese-Spiced Roasted Beets with Honeyed Walnuts (FM)

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for greasing the pan
• 2 pounds beets (about 4 large), peeled and cut into wedges
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon Sichuan or black peppercorns
• 2 teaspoons white sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds
• Salt
• 1/2 cup sliced scallions
• 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
• 2 tablespoons honey

Smear baking sheet with oil.  Put beets on pan, drizzle with sesame and vegetable oil, and toss to coat.

Roast undisturbed for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.  Then turn every 10 minutes until just tender.

Should've used my half-sheet pan.

Mise en place.  I didn't have honey to toss the walnuts in.  I figured sorghum was better than molasses.

Toss everything together with a sprinkling of salt and bake for a 1 minute or 2 just to toast the spices.  There was a ton of seasoning left so I typically just re-seasoned the dish every time I ate it.
I figure you can easily double or maybe even triple the number of beets you use and have enough spice.

A really nice dish.  The basic recipe frankly didn't require enough beets, but I figure four servings could be construed as the amount needed for a side dish.