Beet and dill tzatziki with fried capers

July 27, 2024July 27, 2024 Belinda

Apologies, I forgot to add the capers for the photo!
Recipe by Georgina Hayden in her wonderful book “Greekish”

Serves 4-6

1/2 cucumber or 1 small Persian cucumber
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2x cooked beets (about 120g)
2 tbsp good olive oil
2 heaped tbsp capers, drained
250g (8oz) Full fat Greek plain yoghurt
1 good-sized garlic clove
1/2 good bunch fresh dill
1/2 lemon

Coarsely grate the cucumber and place in a sieve or colander and toss with 1/2 tsp salt. Leave over a bowl or in the sink to drain as the salt pulls out the excess moisture. Coarsely grate the beets, stir into the cucumber and leave for 15 mins or so.

Meanwhile place a small frying pan on a medium-low heat and pour in the olive oil.
Fry the capers for about 5 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden and crisp. Leave to one side.
Press out the excess liquid from the cucumber-beet mixture then transfer to mixing bowl. Stir in the Greek yoghurt and finely grate in the garlic clove, discarding the skin.
Finely chop the dill and stir in most of it with the juice of the lemon and half of the fried capers.
Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary.
Spoon into a serving dish and finish with the remaining dill and fried capers and drizzle with some of the fried caper oil.

Turkish beet and yoghurt dip

August 29, 2023 Belinda

Recipe from food blog, “Cook Eat World”

This vibrant and beautiful bright pink dip is an essential at any Turkish-inspired meze table. A light, sweet, earthy and incredibly addictive dip.

8 oz beets (225g) pre cooked or raw
2 tbsp plain Greek-style yoghurt
Salt & pepper
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp ground roasted cumin
2 tbsp fresh dill (chopped)
2 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped)

Place cooked beets in a food processor, along with all the other ingredients. Blend for 1-2 minutes until very smooth.
Spread over a platter or shallow bowl
Mix a little extra yoghurt with a little milk to make it more runny then drizzle over the surface of the dip.
Sprinkle liberally with the herbs then drizzle over a little extra virgin olive oil and some black pepper. That’s it, you’re done.
If cooking the beets from raw
Preheat oven to 400F/200ºC.
Trim the stalks and wrap each beet in foil separately – skin on and place on a baking tray. Bake in the oven for 45-60 minutes until the beets are soft through (pierce with a sharp knife). Unwrap the foil and leave to cool for 10 minutes.
Cover your hands in a plastic bag, or wear rubber gloves and peel the beets. The skin should come away very easily. Leave to cool completely before using.
Notes
Extra flavor – Sprinkle this salad with a little feta cheese for a perfect salty counterbalance to the sweet, earthy beets.
A tasty salad dressing – Dollop a little of this dip over a platter of peppery rocket leaves or watercress and top with some lightly roasted walnuts or pine nuts for a simple, flavoursome salad.
Make a yellow dip – yellow beets will make a delicious alternative to red.
Storage
Fridge – You can keep this dip fresh in the fridge for up to 4 days. Be sure to store it in an airtight container.
Freezer – This salad is best eaten fresh, but will freeze for up to 2 months. Be sure to completely defrost before using. For better flavour, bring up to room temperature.

Dairy-free · Gluten Free · Salad · Vegan

Beet Slaw with Pistachios and Raisins

May 17, 2022May 17, 2022 Belinda

Joshua McFadden always dresses his salads with the acidic components first so the produce can absorb some of those flavors before being coated with oil. I love the pistachio butter that coats the plate and eventually turns into a creamy dressing when the juices from the beet slaw emerge.

Serves 4
2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1/2 cup golden raisins
4 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 1/4 pounds beets, peeled and julienned. (Use a mix of colors if you can)
4 chopped scallions (optional)
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup lightly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/2 cup lightly packed mint leaves
1/2 tsp dried chili flakes
2 oz pistachios, roasted
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
About 1/4 cup max, of extra-virgin olive oil

Pistachio Butter
1 cup (about 5oz) pistachios, lightly toasted
1/3 cup water
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp kosher salt
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Combine the garlic, raisins, and vinegar in a large bowl and let sit for 1 hour.
Peel and cut the beets into fine julienne slices. (Yes, your hands will get stained, but the color fades quickly.)
Remove the garlic from the raisins and discard.
Add the beets, scallions, lemon juice, most of the parsley and mint (save the rest for finishing), and chili flakes.
Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and lots of black pepper and toss. Let it sit for about 5 minutes and then taste—the slaw should be tart, spicy, peppery, and sweet. Adjust the seasoning, if necessary, then add up to 1/4 cup olive oil. Toss and taste again.

To make pistachio butter:
Process the pistachios in a food processor to get them as fine as possible. With the motor running, pour in the water, vinegar, and salt and process until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
Again with the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil. Taste and adjust with more salt or vinegar. Store in the fridge for up to 10 days.
To serve, spread a layer of pistachio butter onto each plate and top with the slaw. Finish with the reserved fresh herbs, scattered pistachios and a drizzle of olive oil.

Gluten Free · Salad · Vegetable sides

Warm lentil salad with goat’s cheese

February 7, 2022February 7, 2022 Belinda

How gorgeous does this salad look?
Made from lentils that you can store in your cupboard (a good staple to have in there), and livened up with juicy, sweet beets, radicchio, creamy goat’s cheese and fresh herbs, it’s a really filling salad, which is super-healthy and a no-fuss, no-stress supper.

Serves 2

1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
½ tbsp finely chopped rosemary
1 x 250g packet of pre-cooked Puy lentils
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cooked beets, halved and cut into wedges
Half a radicchio, roughly torn
50g soft goat’s cheese, broken into chunks
50g pecans
1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1 tbsp mint, roughly chopped

For the dressing
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a medium pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and rosemary and gently fry until the garlic is just turning a light golden color. Stir in the lentils and warm through. Season to taste.
To make the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together and season with salt and pepper.
Toss the dressing, beetroot and torn radicchio leaves through the warm lentil mixture and transfer to a serving dish.
Scatter over the goat’s cheese, pecans, parsley and mint and serve.

*Note Torn mozzarella or burrata or crumbled vegan feta cheese are good alternatives for the goat’s cheese.

Appetizers · Fish · Holiday Food

Salmon tartare with beet, orange and pear

December 23, 2021 Belinda

This delicious salmon, beet and pear tartare makes an excellent Christmas Day starter, as it can be prepared in advance and is fuss-free to plate up on the day. Ensure you buy the best quality fish you can to make the dish really sing.

400g of salmon fillet, as fresh as possible, pin-boned and skinned
150g of cooked beets, peeled
1 pear
1/2 banana shallot, finely diced
1 bunch of chives, very finely sliced
80g of créme fraiche
1/2 orange, zested
1 lemon, zested and juiced
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Equipment
8cm metal rings

Dice the salmon and beets into 1cm cubes and place in a mixing bowl. Peel the pear, dice it into 1cm cubes and add that too
Add the shallot and about a quarter of the chives, reserving the rest for garnishing the top
Mix in the créme fraîche, orange zest and lemon zest, until everything is well combined. Season to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper
Use a metal ring to plate up neat piles of the tartare and sprinkle a layer of chopped chives over the top. Serve with buttered toast or on its own for a lighter starter

Appetizer Vegetarian · Dairy-free · Gluten Free · Vegetable sides · Vegetable-related

Crushed beets and avocado with chunky olive dressing, feta and pistachio nuts.

February 10, 2021November 29, 2021 Belinda

As I get older, I gravitate more and more to really interesting plant-based recipes.

Serves 4

6 medium beets (about 800 grams)
A good balsamic vinegar for roasting beets and sprinkling over the salad
½ cup Castelvetrano or Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1 good sized shallot, sliced paper thin
1 1/2 tbsp drained capers, roughly chopped
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
¼ cup fresh mint leaves, chopped + small whole leaves for garnish
3 tbsp flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1 1/2 ripe avocados
4 oz of either goat cheese or Greek feta cheese
1/3 cup toasted, salted pistachios or toasted roughly chopped hazelnuts

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Peel the beets and place them in a roasting pan lined with nonstick aluminum foil. Season well with salt and pepper and sprinkle some balsamic vinegar over them. Toss to coat.
Cover them with aluminum foil and cook the beets for around 1 hour or until very soft.
Remove them from the oven, uncover and using the bottom of a wide bowl or jar, gently crush the beets until they break off into craggy fragments. The pieces will be all different shapes and sizes and this is okay!
Transfer the beets to your serving platter, drizzling them with more olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

While the beets are roasting, make the dressing:
In a medium bowl, combine the olives, shallot, capers, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, and some ground black pepper. Use a fork to “whisk” and mix it up. Set aside.

Toast your nuts and if using hazelnuts, very roughly chop them. You want plenty of crunch to top the salad.

Peel, pit, and dice the avocados, and the scatter the diced pieces evenly over the beets.
Quickly stir the mint and parsley leaves into the dressing, and then spoon the dressing over the crushed beets and avocado.
Crumble the cheese over the salad and finally sprinkle it with the nuts, topping with a few mint leaves.
Test one more time for seasoning as beets soak up a lot of the seasoning.

Dairy-free · Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Soup · Vegan

Simple and delicious beet gazpacho

July 12, 2020September 7, 2022 Belinda

This recipe is from the lovely food blog, “Feasting at home”
I happened to have all the ingredients to this dish when I found the recipe and it’s well worth making this refreshing, highly flavored cold soup.

*You don’t have to be precise with these ingredients, they are more of a guide. I wasn’t and it turned out beautifully. I like a little more sherry vinegar as it has a sweetness to it, and I roasted my beets instead of boiling them.

Screen Shot 2020-07-12 at 8.27.53 AM

1lb beets (4 medium beets, smaller than a tennis ball, about 3 inches in diameter)
1/2 cup red onion, finely diced, divided
2-3 cups chilled vegetable or chicken broth
2 garlic cloves ( 1 large or 2 two small)
3-4 small Turkish cucumbers, divided
½ cup fresh dill, divided
2 tbsp sherry vinegar, plus more to taste
½ tsp kosher salt, more to taste
¼ tsp fresh pepper

Garnishes- avocado, diced cucumber, diced beet, finely diced onion, chopped dill, baby nasturtium leaves, olive oil or yogurt or sour cream

Place beets in a medium pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer until fork tender all the way through, about 45- 60 minutes. Chill the beets.

Once the beets are cold, slip off their skins using your hands. Slice and place 3 of the 4 beets ( saving one) in a blender with 2 cups of broth.

Add the half of the chopped onion (about 1/4 cup), 2 garlic cloves, 2 sliced Turkish cucumbers (saving one) salt, pepper, vinegar and about ⅔ of the fresh dill (saving some for garnish).
Blend until very smooth.
Taste and adjust salt and vinegar. You may want to add more broth, or any of the other ingredients. It’s worth playing with until you get just the flavor you want.
Place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Prep the garnishes.
Finely dice remaining beets, cucumber, avocado and chop the remaining dill. Pour chilled beet soup (the colder it is, the better) into bowls.
Top with with the garnishes.
Drizzle with a little olive oil or a swirl of yogurt or sour cream if you like. Serve immediately!

Appetizer Vegetarian · Appetizers · Holiday Food

Easy warm beet and goat cheese cups

December 20, 2019 Belinda

These great-tasting, no-cook canapés are quick to assemble at the last minute, suitable for veggies and they look gorgeous.
The perfect party food from Delicious Magazine

Screen Shot 2019-12-20 at 8.38.59 AM

Makes 24

4 cooked beets
1 garlic clove
2oz (50g) Greek yogurt
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1.5oz (40g) fresh breadcrumbs
1.5oz (40g) chopped toasted hazelnuts
5.5oz (150g) very soft, fresh rindless goat’s cheese
24 mini croustade cups
Fresh cilantro leaves, to garnish

In a food processor, whizz the beets with the garlic clove, Greek yogurt, pomegranate molasses, fresh breadcrumbs, hazelnuts and seasoning to form a coarse paste.
Put the goat’s cheese in a piping bag, then half-fill the croustade cups.
Top with spoonfuls of the beetroot paste, then garnish each with a fresh cilantro leaf.
Serve straightaway, or keep the beetroot paste in the fridge, covered, for up to 2 days, then assemble at the last minute.

Baking · Do-ahead

Beet and ginger cake with cream cheese frosting

March 30, 2019September 7, 2022 Belinda

Recipe by David Lebovitz, adapted from “SWEET” by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh

A few notes from the author;
“Although I liked the cake just fine without it, a little ground cinnamon or allspice in the cake batter would be welcome, for those who like spices.The original recipe had some fresh ginger juice added to the cream cheese frosting, but I didn’t think it was necessary; it was so good on its own.
The candied ginger in the cake gave it enough bite. The recipe also called for an 8-inch round cake pan, which I didn’t have in that size, so I used a square cake pan, which worked well.”

Screen Shot 2019-03-30 at 7.39.02 AM

9 to 12 servings

For the beet and ginger cake
1/2 cup finely chopped candied ginger
1 2/3 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 2/3 cup (9 oz) grated fresh, raw beets (peeled)
finely grated zest of one orange
2/3 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sunflower or canola oil
3/4 teaspoon Fruit Fresh, or 1 (1500mg) vitamin C tablet, crushed to a fine powder (optional)

For the cream cheese frosting
5 1/2 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract, or the finely grated zest of one lemon

1. Butter an 8-inch square or round pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. In a small bowl, pour boiling water over the candied ginger and let it sit for 15 minutes. Drain the ginger and squeeze out as much of the excess water as possible.

2. Preheat the oven to 350F

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the grated beets, orange zest, walnuts and candied ginger to the bowl, but do not stir in.

4. Whisk together the eggs, sour cream, oil, and Fruit Fresh or vitamin C in a small bowl. Pour the mixture over the dry ingredients in the large bowl and use a spatula to mix the ingredients together, stirring just until thoroughly combined

5. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan, even the top, and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
(Note: The original recipe in the book, which called for the cake to be baked in a round 8-inch/20cm pan, said to bake the cake for 50 to 55 minutes. So it may take longer in another pan, but you should begin checking it at the 30 minutes, or so, mark.)

6. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool for 30 minutes on a wire rack, then remove the cake from the pan, peel off the parchment paper, and let cool completely.

7. To frost the cake, beat the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or by hand in a large bowl, using a wooden spoon or spatula), until smooth.
Beat in the powdered sugar until it’s completely incorporated. Add the heavy cream and vanilla (or lemon zest) and beat for about 1 minute on high speed, until thickened. The frosting may seen rather soft, as mine was, but spread beautifully.
8. Spread the frosting over the top of the cake.

Storage: The cake will keep for up to 3 days. If not eaten the same day, it’s best stored in the refrigerator, although let it come to room temperature before serving, if you can.