Beets are one of my favorite root vegetables to work with. They also taste quite unlike anything else, a mixture of sugary and earthy, making them ideal for both sweet and savory dishes. 

Beets are blood cleansers, packed with vitamins and minerals and actually considered a natural aphrodisiac [PDF]. Flavor and health benefits aside, beets give the most incredible color to any dish they are in. This beets recipe for a savory dip is infused with the deep flavor of roasted garlic and softened with the cooling, creamy backdrop of thick coconut milk. 

You can pair this beets recipe with roasted pita bread (whole-wheat or whole-grain, preferably), crackers or vegetable crudités. You could also use it as a condiment in sandwiches or just do as I do and eat by the spoonful as a snack to curb hunger. Enjoy!

DIY Dip: Roasted Garlic and Beets Recipe

Serves about 6

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch (about 5 individual) beets
• 1 head garlic
• 1 cup thick coconut milk (or unsweetened coconut milk yogurt)
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Scrub beets until clean (they can sometimes be quite dirty). Cut off the stems so only stubs remain (don’t throw beet greens away, they’re delicious too!). Cut 1 centimeter off the top of a head of garlic. Place beets and garlic on a cooking tray lined with parchment paper. Pop into the oven for about 1 hour. The garlic will cook more quickly, so you can remove that after about 30 minutes – keep an eye on the garlic head so that it doesn’t burn.

Remove beets from the oven and let cool so that you can comfortably touch them with your hands. Remove the skins from all beets. Then squeeze one end of the head of the garlic so that the individual cloves slip out from the cut end. Place both the beets and garlic into a food processor. Blend until smooth.

In a bowl, add the coconut milk and fold into the beet mixture, salt, pepper, and dill, reserving a teaspoon of the dill for presentation later. Fold the mixture together until evenly combined. Serve with the remaining dill as a garnish.

Related on EcoSalon:

A Spring Delight: Cumin Spiced Beet Salad Recipe

Recipe: Vegan White Cheese Party Dip

Recipe: French Lentil Dip

Photo Credit: Dag Endresen

The post DIY Dip: Vegan Roasted Garlic and Beets Recipe appeared first on EcoSalon.

The unmistakeable sweetness of beets, paired with the spice of cumin and red pepper, make this salad recipe one for all seasons.

In addition to the warm heat of cumin, I use crushed red pepper flakes to add a little fire to this colorful salad. The contrast between the sweet beets and hot pepper is addictive. I wear rubber gloves when handling beets to prevent my hands from staining; the ruby red spots can last for days!

Serves 6 to 8

 Ingredients

4 large beets, stem and roots removed, well scrubbed
Juice of ½ lemon
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, pushed through a garlic press
2 teaspoons cumin powder
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Place the unpeeled beets in a large pot and fill with enough cold water to cover. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer, uncovered, until the beets are easily pierced with a fork, about 1 hour. Drain and cool for 10 minutes.

Wearing gloves if you like, peel the skins from the beets (they should come off easily). Slice thinly. (I use a crinkle cutter knife that creates zigzag slices.) In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, oil, garlic, cumin, and pepper flakes. Place the beets in a large bowl, pour the dressing over, and toss to coat thoroughly. Season generously with salt and pepper. Serve cold or at room temperature. The salad can be refrigerated, covered tightly, up to 1 week.

This recipe appears courtesy of  The Modern Menu. Simple. Beautiful. Kosher. By Kim Kushner

Photograph by Andrew Zuckerman

The post A Spicy Spring Delight: Cumin-Spiced Beet Salad Recipe appeared first on EcoSalon.

Move over basil.

My mother is known for always having a couple of homemade spreads on hand. In fact, if we’re out of pesto to put on open faced sandwiches in the morning (we’re Swedish after all) she has been known to make a fresh batch at 6 a.m. Completely normal in a food appreciating household.

Which is why I was in no way surprised when I recently came home and in the midst of trying to come up with an appropriate crust recipe for a gluten free appeltaart, she exclaimed, “oh! you have to try the beet pesto!”

Of course.

What’s fun about beets is that you get an intense color, and a taste that blends well with the olive oil and feta in the recipe. And it’s perfect served with Five Seed Crackers. And although I had nothing to do with coming up with this recipe, my mother is nice enough to let me publish it here.

Beet Pesto

Ingredients:

• 4-5 small beets
• 3 tablespoons feta cheese or chèvre
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 2-3 mint leaves
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• dash of pepper

Directions:

Rinse and cut off the tops of the beets and put them in a saucepan. Add enough enough water to cover the beets. Bring water to a boil and then simmer with the lid on for 20 minutes, or until soft enough to poke with a fork.

Place in food processor and mix until a smooth consistency. Add in rest of ingredients.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Want more food inspiration? Check out the rest of our Sunday Recipe series. 

The post Sunday Recipe: Beet Pesto appeared first on EcoSalon.

A colorful salad you make in a bowl, not in the sink.

Some call this the kitchen sink salad; I call it the perfect salad. It is fail proof and fails to bore, even if you have it everyday! Packed with nutrition and flavor and with enough substance to keep you full for hours, this recipe is a great way to get the most from produce rounding its last leg in the fridge.

You could virtually use anything on hand, as long as you satisfy each of the four elements – vegetable, green, grain/legume, and fat. I added grated beets, carrots and zucchini as the vegetable, chopped kale as the green, cooked lentils as the legume, and avocado and an olive oil vinaigrette as the fat. Regardless of the nature of the components you choose, the result is the same: a colorful salad with a bite!

I tend to use lentils in my version of the kitchen sink salad for a reason. They’re not only made up of energy boosting carbs, but also are full of protein, which is especially important when salads are a daily diet mainstay.

Lentils are an excellent source of soluble and insoluble fiber and effective in helping to prevent digestive and cardiovascular disorders. They also contribute to lowering cholesterol and maintaining blood sugar levels. Low on the glycemic index, lentils release their sugars slowly, keeping you fuller and more balanced for longer.

Kitchen Sink Salad

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

• 1 cup green lentils
• 6 kale leaves
• 1/2 cup grated carrots
• 1/2 cup grated zucchini
• 1/4 cup grated beet
• 1/4 cup chopped avocado
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

In a medium-sized pot, add 2 cups of water to 1 cup of green lentils. Cover with a lid. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for approximately 15-20 minutes or until the lentils have absorbed all the water. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Stem and chop the kale leaves, grate the carrots, zucchini and beet, and slice the avocado.

Add the vegetables, kale and avocado to the cooled lentils in a medium sized bowl.

For the vinaigrette, whisk together the olive oil, lemon, and salt and pepper. Fold the dressing into the salad and give the entire mixture a good toss so that all the ingredients are spread evenly.

Serve and enjoy!

Bon Appetit!

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

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