Eggplant & Beetroot Dip

Eggplant & Beetroot Dip
I was going to make baba ghanoush, but thought I might as well throw a beetroot in the oven in the oven as well, and that turned out to be a good idea. This dip or condiment (I eat it on toast and on raw crackers) is amazingly light and fluffy (no need to use any oil), with a more gentle beetroot flavour than a straight beetroot dip normally has. Yet it is super easy to prepare.
Oh, and the flowers, calendula on the side and borage on top, are all edible 🙂
Cuisine: vegan, roasted
Recipe type: dip
Prep time: 
Cook/wait time: 
Total time: 
You need
  • 1 large beetroot
  • 2 medium eggplants
  • 50gr onion
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • ⅛ tspn Himalyan rock salt
To do
  1. heat oven to 200C
  2. wash eggplants and beetroot
  3. prick wholes in the eggplants with a fork or sharp knife, place them and the beetroot directly on oven tray or in a dish, whatever you prefer
  4. roast till the eggplants have started to collapse, and the skin of the beetroot is bubbly
  5. let cool down, then peel the beetroot, and scoop the flesh out of the eggplants
  6. place all ingredients in your blender and run till nice and fluffy
  7. done!
Notes
Keeps well in a container in the fridge.

 

Beetroot & Coconut Terrine w Olive & Dill

Beetroot & Coconut Terrine w Olive & Dill
Not only can you serve this dish instead of a dip, but you can also use it as part of a meal, just serve a wedge on the side. Although this recipe can easily be made as dip by leaving the agar agar out, it is nice for a change to present it in solid form. It's low fat and has a lovely light, flavoursome texture 🙂
Cuisine: vegan, cooked (roasted)
Recipe type: side dish, condiment
Prep time: 
Cook/wait time: 
Total time: 
You need
  • 300gr beetroot (peeled weight)
  • ½ cup coconut yoghurt
  • 1 large clove of garlic, minced or finely chopped
  • 4 good quality black olives (mine were dried, delish!), chopped
  • 30gr red onion, chopped
  • 3 tsp dried dill
  • ⅛ tsp salt
  • a good grind of pepper
  • 1 cup oat milk or other non dairy milk
  • 3 tsp agar agar powder
To do
  1. preheat oven to 190-200C
  2. wash beetroots, place in a dish and then in the oven, bake till soft (or almost soft), which would be about 45minutes, depending on their size
  3. let cool down, then peel skin off, cut in pieces, add to the small bowl of your food processor (see note)
  4. add coconut yoghurt, chopped onion, garlic, olives, dill, pepper, salt, blend till fine, taste and tweak flavours
  5. before the next step, make sure you have your moulds or slightly oiled ramekins ready to be used; this last phase needs a bit of pace
  6. in a small sauce pan, place oat milk and sprinkle the agar agar powder on top, heat the milk, whisk powder in, and you'll find that as soon as the milk starts to boil, the mixture will go thickish
  7. take immediately of heat and, with your machine running, pour in the agar mixture
  8. let blend for a short while, making sure the agar is well mixed through
  9. pour mixture into moulds, and tap them to fill up nicely, place in fridge and they're done when solid
Notes
You can make this dish with a stick blender, just make sure the beetroots are quite soft and that you have somebody to pour the agar mixture in while you stir thoroughly.

 

Beetroot, Celery & Orange Soup w Dill & Garlic Cream

Beetroot, Celery & Orange Soup w Dill & Garlic Cream
Perfectly balanced, you can taste the celery, and you can taste the beetroot without the celery being overbearing. But what finishes it is the orange zest and the dill & garlic cream, they are great flavour additions 🙂
Prepared by:
Serves: 5-6
Prep time: 
Cook/wait time: 
Total time: 
You need
  • 2 medium beetroots, chopped
  • 1 large stalks of celery (I used 3 really thin ones from the garden), chopped
  • 1 medium potato, chopped
  • 2 tbsp of vegetable stock powder
  • 1.5 liters water (or omit stock powder and use vegetable stock)
  • 1 tbsp coriander seeds
  • a few cloves of garlic, chopped
  • ½ large onion, chopped or sliced
  • juice and pulp of 1 orange
  • zest of oranges, 1 tsp per serve
  • 1 tsp of Himalayan rock salt
  • a generous grind of pepper
  • a dash of oil
For the Dill & Garlic cream:
  • half a cup of Cashew Cream
  • 2 tsp of dried dill
  • juice of 1 small lemon
  • zest of ½ lemon
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • salt & pepper to taste
To do
  1. heat the oil in a large pan, add chopped garlic and onion and stir fry for a minute
  2. add chopped vegetables, stir fry for a few minutes
  3. add water and stock powder
  4. add orange juice & pulp and coriander seeds
  5. boil till vegetables are soft
  6. blend the soup, taste and add salt & pepper as you like
  7. you could either serve the cream on the side for people to help themselves, or place a nice dollop in the middle (or draw a stickman)
  8. just before you serve, top with a teaspoon of orange zest per bowl

 

Dehydrated Smoky Beetroot Chips

Dehydrated Smoky Beetroot Chips
Healthy chips? Yep! 🙂
Prepared by:
Cuisine: vegan
Recipe type: raw snack
Prep time: 
Total time: 
You need
  • 3 medium beetroots
  • 1 tbsp of liquid smoke
  • 1 tbsp of tamari
  • 1 tbsp of agave nectar (or another liquid sweetener)
  • 1 tbsp of water
  • ½ to 1 tsp of Himalayan rock salt
To do
  1. slice the beetroot as thin as possible
  2. mix the other ingredients
  3. toss the beetroot in the liquid mixture, let sit for 5 minutes, toss again, let sit for another 5 minutes
  4. place all slices straight onto your dehydrator trays (don't let them overlap)
  5. dehydrate untill you're happy with the crispiness - how long does depend on how thin your slices are, but at least 8 hours (just dehydrate them overnight and see how they are then)
Notes
When done, either munch away or keep in a container, they will stay crisp for a couple of days

 

Beetroot & Lavender Soup

Beetroot & Lavender Soup

Beetroot & Lavender Soup

 

An outrageously easy soup but soooo tasty!

Things you need:

♦     1.5 liters of water (top up if it evaporates)
♦     3 medium beetroots
♦     2 tbsp of veggie stock powder
♦     1 can of coconut cream
♦     1 & 0.5 tbsp lavender flowers
♦     pepper & Himalayan rock salt

You do:

– peel and chop the beetroots
– boil them in the water with the veggie stock powder
– when almost soft enough to blend, add coconut cream and 1 tbsp of lavender and let gently boil
– when beetroot is soft, blend the soup, either in a blender or with a stick blender
– add a bit more lavender and let simmer for a bit before you serve, just to infuse flavours
– serve and add a bit more of lavender on top

I also added some blood orange flavoured olive oil and a bit of chopped chives. You could drizzle a bit of olive oil and sprinkle the juice of a fresh orange.

Beetroot Wraps w Greens & Red Cabbage

Beetroot Wraps w Greens & Red Cabbage
Wraps are great meals at any time of the day and the possibilities are endless. Here's one of my favourites 🙂
Prepared by:
Cuisine: vegan
Recipe type: Wrap
Serves: 2
Prep time: 
Total time: 
You need
  • about half a cup of baba ghanoush
  • red cabbage, chopped, ¾ cup
  • ½ avocado
  • half a small onion
  • rocket leaves, as many as you like
  • 1 tbsp hemp hearts/seeds
  • dash of olive oil, optional
  • salt & pepper
To make wraps from scratch (about 6) you need:
  • 1 cup of w/m flour (I use organic spelt)
  • 1 cup of white flour (ditto)
  • 1 tsp of salt
  • 1.5 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • juice of one medium size beetroot, and top up with hot water to ¾ cup
To do
To assemble:
  1. spread the baba ghanoush on your wrap, chop onion & cabbage, and arrange everything else on the wrap, a bit off centered
  2. roll up and enjoy 🙂
To make wraps:
  1. mix your dry ingredients (if lumpy, then sieve). I use a food processor.
  2. slowly add in oil & water/beetroot mixture
  3. mix till it is a nice dry ball - if too sticky, add flour
  4. let the dough sit in a warmish spot under a tea towel, for abt 20 minutes
  5. divide in 8 pieces, let sit for 20 minutes again
  6. on your work surface, sprinkle some flour. Put a ball of dough in the middle, flatten with your hands, then use a rolling pin to roll out thin. Always roll from the middle to the sides. keep sprinkling with flour, turn over once. If you don't sprinkle enough flour, it will stick to the work surface and you'll be annoyed!
  7. heat a skillet, nice and hot, no oil
  8. when hot, put your wrap in the skillet.
  9. when bubbles appear, give it another 10 seconds, then turn over
  10. another 10 seconds, and done!
    (I keep a plate with a tea towel ready, where the wraps go when done. Leftover wraps you can put in a plastic bag with moist to wet kitchen paper, they will stay nice and pliable. In case they are dry, the moist kitchen paper will fix that. )

 

Raw Beetroot, Ginger & Coconut Soup

 

Raw Beetroot, Ginger & Coconut Soup
This soup is absolutely lovely; if you get the balance right, it is just plain surprising. To be served cold or at room temperature. This is what I did, for 4 entrée size portions:
Prepared by:
Cuisine: raw vegan
Recipe type: soup
Serves: 4
Prep time: 
Total time: 
You need
  • 2 beetroots medium sized
  • 1 tbsp raw agave nectar
  • 1.5 cup of filtered water
  • ½ of spring onion
  • ½ medium red onion
  • 2 tbsp dried Dill
  • ¾ cup of Coconut Cream (fats scooped off in my recipe, but feel free to leave it in)
  • about 1.5cm of fresh ginger
  • juice of about ½ to 1 lemon
  • pepper
  • 1.5 tsp Himalayan Rock Salt
To do
  1. grate the beetroot
  2. then add everything to a blender and blend till smooth. Unless you have a high powered blender, this will keep some beetroot bits.
  3. serve!
Notes
I served this at room temperature, but would serve it cold in summer, even with a few ice cubes 🙂