rainbow beetroot salad with honey sesame seed yoghurt dressing

Pink and Golden Beetroots tossed with bulgur wheat & toasted pumpkin seeds  

 

I made it.  I love it.  Its delicious.  But not really sure what else to say about it... other than its much prettier in real life. My pics just don't do it justice.  Definitely one to keep up your sleeve when entertaining.

 

I got my hands on some beautiful rainbow beets from the local village market.  I love it when I find 'artisan' veg.  I get such a kick out of using extraordinary things.  These pink stripy beets are much prettier raw (and I have a killer raw beet salad for another day), and the golden ones well they just throw your taste buds out as so easily mistaken for something else.  Roasting them is best, I just wrap them in foil, skin and all and roast in oven till soft (approx. 45 mins). 

 

The honeyed sesame  seed yoghurt dressing and lots of fresh lemon juice takes this salad to the next level but its the roasted pumpkin seeds that give it a real wow factor.  Its really good!

 

You will need

4 - 5 assorted beetroots (2 golden, 2 pink and 1 dark red)
6 radishes finely sliced
1 cup bulgur wheat
1 cup water
few leaves of rocket
few sprigs coriander
handful of pumpkin seeds

For the dressing:
1 1/2 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
3 tbsp low fat yoghurt
lemon juice
garlic clove crushed
1 tsp runny honey
a little water to thin it out

 

golden beetroot & feta risotto

Talk about having to climatise...  Having just returned from a long stint in sunny South Africa this snowy winter wonderland sure is an adjustment.  Coming from a land of salads and BBQ's, I had all good intention of carrying out the all healthy, all slimming January detox.  It soon became apparent that in this icy weather, we are still very much in need of warm comforting food and that's exactly what you can expect over the next couple of weeks.

Let the detox begin in February, where we'll 'Detox - the delicious way'!   There will be soups, curries, stews, bean salads, dips, healthy snacks and lots of herbal teas. 

But for now, here is a warm creamy risotto, using golden beetroot which you don't always find and feta.

Serves 4

You'll  need:

1 red onion, chopped
3 golden beetroots (roasted in foil to maintain their juices and diced)
1 slab of feta (to taste)
400g arborio risotto rice
300ml boiling stock
4 Tbs white wine
salt and pepper to taste
slice of lemon

Method:

1) Put oil in a pan and saute onion
2) Pour in the rice and coat with the onion and oil, then add the wine
3) Gently add the stock spoon by spoon, allowing all the stock to be absorbed by the rice before adding the next ladle, over medium heat for approx 20 minutes.  If you need to increase the amount of stock do so, until the rice is al dente, but not too soft.
4) Add chopped up feta and beetroot and let it cook through the rice.
5) Serve immediately warm and creamy, and squeeze a slice of lemon over and season with salt and pepper

beetroot houmous

I'm always amazed at the selection of houmous in the shops, roasted pepper ones, caramelised onion ones, full fat ones, healthier lighter ones and so on.  But none taste as good as a simple homemade one...  With such a fabulous colour, this houmous makes a statement whatever the occasion.  I served it with homemade bread sticks as a simple afternoon snack.

The bread sticks are made by simply whacking any old bread you have in the oven, preheated at about 180 for a few minutes until crispy.  They keep really well in an air tight container, ready for you to pull at at any last minute wonder.  

My little girl loves snacking on them and I get a real kick out of making something from nothing.

Beetroot Houmous

You'll need:

• 1 tin chickpeas
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled
• 1-2 whole cooked beetroots, peeled and chopped
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 2-3 lemons, juice
• salt and pepper

Method:
1) Place chickpeas, beetroot, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice in a blender and blend till smooth.
2) Season with salt and pepper.  Add more lemon or olive oil if you feel it needs more.
Note:  If you buy raw beetroots and need to cook them. The best way of doing this is to cut off the tips and leaves and wrap each one individually in foil.  Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for at least 30 minutes or more, till soft.  Once cooked, the skin peels off easily.

Top Tip:
To get more juice out of your lemons, put them in the microwave for a few seconds and you'll have double the juice.