Pureed Beet Soup

So long time, no post. I've decided to make some changes to the blog. My main purpose is to catalog recipes I've made so I can easily find them for future use. So to help me do that, I may post recipes with no prose or photo. I don't want to let the fancy extras get in my way of recording good food! I do have some words and a photo for you today, though.

It's beet season in my CSA, so I reluctantly tried this beet soup. I'm still on the fence about beets, but I seriously loved this soup! It's creamy and sweet and probably a good introduction to beets for those who are just getting to know this gorgeous vegetable.

Pureed Beet Soup
adapted from Dishing Up the Dirt

1 tbsp coconut oil
3 large red beets, scrubbed clean and cut into 1/4 inch pieces (if organic, no need to peel)
1 tbsp fresh minced ginger
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
dash of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup of full fat coconut milk
4-5 cups of vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pan heat the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add beets, garlic and ginger. Cook for about 3-5 more minutes stirring often. Add 4 cups of vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer for about 25 minutes. Add cayenne pepper. Make sure beets are fork tender, and then carefully with a blender or immersion blender, puree the soup. Add more stock or water if it is too thick. Add coconut milk. Stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Beet Bliss Salad

This salad was one of the first things I ever made with beets. It was buried in a CSA post from 2010 with no accompanying photo, and I thought it deserved its own post. If you don't like beets or have never tried them, I recommend this recipe. Maple-sweetened dressing, goat cheese, and pecans really make this salad fabulous!

Beet Bliss Salad
adapted from Eating Well

3 medium beets
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 c. baby spinach or mixed salad greens
1/2 cups Maple-Mustard vinaigrette
2 Tbsp. chopped toasted pecans
2 ounces crumbled goat cheese

Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette
1/2 cup walnut oil or olive oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. coarse-grained mustard
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Make the vinaigrette by combining all ingredients except oil. Mix well. Slowly whisk in the oil. Set aside.

Heat the oven to 375°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Rinse the beets and trim off any leafy tops. Wrap in aluminum foil and place in the oven. Roast until tender and easily pierced with a knife, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let cool.

When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel using a paring knife or by pushing the skin with your fingers.

Slice the beets, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

To assemble the salad, combine spinach and beets (cold or slightly warm) and top with vinaigrette, pecans, and goat cheese. Gently toss and serve.

Chocolate Cake (with beets...shh)

Of course, this is my favorite beet recipe so far - chocolate cake! There was just a hint of beet earthiness in this super moist cake, which gave it depth. I never told my husband the secret ingredient, and he said it was the best chocolate cake I have made. Also he gave a piece to a co-worker who said "This is so good I'm going to hug myself."

I'm overloaded on beets right now from my CSA, so to preserve them I think I'll make some more beet puree and store it in the freezer. That way, I can make this chocolate cake any time!

Here I made the ganache as posted by Naturally Ella, where I got the recipe. However, it was a little runny, and I'm not sure what went wrong. This cake would be excellent with any topping you'd like: powdered sugar, chocolate buttercream, ganache, etc. Pictured here is my favorite ice cream: salted caramel.

Chocolate Beet Cake
from Naturally Ella

1 cup butter
1½ cup brown sugar or sucanat
3 eggs
2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
2 cups pureed beets (roughly 3 large beets)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour or white wheat flour
½ cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoons salt

Pull butter and eggs and bring to room temperature. Also, butter and flour two 8″ cake pans.

First, peel the beets, cut into small pieces and cover with water (just enough that the beets are barely covered) and cook until beets are tender (30-40 minutes). If you have a lot of excess water left, drain so that only ½ cup remains with the beets. Puree beets in a blender until no large chunks are left. Set aside to cool.
While beets are cooking, combine ¼ cup of the butter with the ounce of chocolate. Melt and whisk the chocolate and butter together. Set aside to cool slightly.
Preheat oven to 375˚.

In either a large bowl or your stand-mixer bowl, combine remaining softened butter and brown sugar, beating with a paddle until well combined. Next, beat in eggs and vanilla until the mixture comes together, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add in melted chocolate/butter and beet puree and continue to beat. Sift together the dry ingredients and add to the batter, beating until everything is well combined.

Pour evenly into cake pans and bake for 25-35 minutes (a toothpick should come out clean when the cake is checked.) Set aside for 10 minutes, then loosen both cakes around the edges and flip onto pieces of parchment to let cool.

To assemble the cake (once the cakes are cooled), take one cake and place on your serving plate. The cake is really moist and you may have to take a knife to loosen the cake from the parchment paper. Cover the first cake with a layer of desired topping and place the second cake on top. From here, take a healthy scoop of topping and crumb coat the cake with a thin layer. Place in refrigerator for 15 minutes, remove, and cover cake with remaining topping. If using ganache, keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Beet Green Salad

Beets! I'm not totally in love with beets yet, but I'm working on it. Once peeled, the gorgeous ruby red color tries to tell me it's going to taste so good. I asked my mom the other day if she ever served beets to us, and the answer was no. So I need some more exposure to beets to learn to appreciate them. In any case, beets are quite economical - you can eat the beet greens and the beet. Both parts of the vegetable are used in this salad. More beet recipes coming...

Beet Green Chopped Salad
from Sprouted Kitchen

1 bunch of beets, including fresh looking greens
olive oil for cooking
4 scallions, white and light green parts
1 cup cooked and cooled quinoa
1 small avocado, diced
1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds

Tahini Dressing
2 Tbsp. tahini
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1-2 tsp. agave nectar, depending on desired sweetness
3 Tbsp. water, or as needed
hefty pinch of salt and pepper
1 clove of garlic finely minced
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. finely chopped chives

Preheat the oven to 450'.

Cut the greens from the beets at their stem. Rub a bit of olive oil on the skin of the beets, sprinkle with salt and wrap them all in a foil pack. Set on the middle oven rack and cook for 45-55 minutes until you can easily piece through with a knife. Set them aside to cool.

While the beets roast, clean and dry the greens. Chop off and discard the long red stems. Chop the greens and put them in a large mixing bowl.

To prepare the dressing, whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, vinegar, agave and water. Mix in the garlic, hearty pinch of salt and pepper and drizzle in the olive oil while whisking. Add more water if you prefer it thinner. Mix in the chives. Adjust to your taste and set aside.

Once the beets are cool enough to touch, you should be able to just push the skin off with your fingers. Use a paring knife to help it along. Dice the peeled beets. Thinly slice the scallions. Add the beets, scallions, quinoa and avocado to the mixing bowl and toss with a generous amount of dressing (note: the salad will turn pink from the beets. If this bothers you, you can toss everything without the diced beets, and sprinkle them on top). Sprinkle in the sunflower seeds, give it one more toss.