Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Place beets cut side down into an oven safe dish. You want the beets to be close together so don’t pick too big of a container. Add water around the base of the beets so that there’s about ¾ of an inch of liquid in the dish. Cover with a piece of tented aluminum foil so there’s room for the beets to steam.
Bake beets in the oven for about 40 minutes. Carefully open the foil (lots of steam will pour out so don’t burn yourself!) and test each beet with a knife to see if they are soft all the way through. If some are smaller and are fully cooked, pull them out and set aside. Replace the foil and keep cooking, checking every 20 minutes, until all beets are fully cooked. Cooking time depends on size and freshness of beets.
Once all beets are cooked, remove from oven and let them cool for about 20 minutes. On a cutting board and using a paper towel (this will help reduce the amount of staining from the beets on your hands!) rub the beets with the towel to peel the skins off. You can also use a peeler if the skins are hard to peel.
Once peeled, cut beets into small wedges or cubes and place in a shallow bowl. Toss the beets with vinegar, ½ teaspoon or so of chile flakes, and some salt. Let beets sit for 20-30 minutes to lightly pickle. Serve the beets on salads with the chile flakes.
