Beet the Blues
So like most of us health conscious people I too went through a phase of everything beetroot! I still adore it, which means I havenât over done it just yet! Im always searching for new recipes and ideas on how to cook it , in the not so traditional way.
I decided to put together 3 simple recipes based on beetroot that I think people will enjoy! A smoothie, a side dish/or dip and yes a dessert!
The smoothie
I had seen this recipe on foodflickr, a great page on twitter set up by two top nutritionalists in ireland they have wonderful recipes and great health tips!
- 1 large fresh beetroot pre cooked and diced
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- 1/2 cup frozen raspberries
- 1 medium banana
- 100ml apple juice
Blend them all up and viola a quick and simple energy booster! I used it as a starter before too, for a summer dinner party and it worked great!
The dip
It wouldnât be a blog post without taking something from my favourite book- Jerusalem !
- 500g cooked beetroot.
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 small red chilli deseeded
- 250 g greek yogurt
- 1 1/2 date syrup
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp Zaâatar
- pinch of salt
- place beetroot, garlic, chilli and yogurt in food processor and blend into a smooth paste
- transfer to a large mixing bowl and add date syrup, olive oil ,zaâatar and salt.
Simple and easy! Its a great accompaniment for meat dishes like lamb, duck or even burgers! I usually top mine off with some toasted almonds & spring onions sliced!
Also you donât have to use date syrup you could use maple or agave! You can find the spice Zaâatar in Fallon & Byrne and even some asian markets.
Paleo chocolate & beetroot cake.
I saved the best till last !!!! and will make even the people who hate beetroot love it! ⌠works as brownies also if moulded in square tin.
- 300g beetroot cubed
- 4 eggs
- 4 tbsp akacia honey
- 4 tbsp olive oil/ coconut oil
- 1 tbsp pure cocoa
- 125g ground almond
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt.
- 150g dark chocolate 70% plus a little extra for serving
- Preheat oven 180â
- Line bottom of 23 cm greaseproof tin.
- In a blender combine beetroot ,eggs, honey, cocoa, vanilla, baking powder & salt until creamyâŚ
- Add almond flour & combine.
- melt chocolate and oil over low heat & add to the mixture.
- Bake 35-40 min
- Pierce to check with a skewer if it comes out clean your ready to goâŚ
Once you take it out f the oven place the few extra squares of chocolate on top & leave them to melt then sprinkle some toasted hazelnuts on top!
I served it with coconut ice cream -the booja booja vegan one.. its amazing, however extremely expensive! So Stay tuned for a healthy ice cream recipe soon!