Monday August 12, 2012 – Beets 

I was very excited when today’s main ingredient called for beets! I have a new love for beets. They are so tasty, simple to prepare and have significant health benefits!

On the train home from work tonight, I decided to continue the trend of “let’s use whatever I have in my kitchen” for tonight’s meal! I decided I wanted to combine the beets with the tri-color quinoa that I purchased last week from the bulk section in Whole Foods, sweet potato, and tempah to make some sort of hash!

Beet and Sweet Potato Quinoa Hash

Ingredients (for 2 people)

• 1 cup quinoa (rinsed)
• 1.5 cups organic vegetable stock
• 3 beets
• 1 large sweet potato
• 2 teaspoons sunflower oil
• organic tempah (I used Trader Joe’s)
• white wine vinegar (to sauté tempah)
• kosher salt
• pepper

Directions

Potatoes:

• Preheat oven to 425
• Cut sweet potato into small pieces (about 1 inch) and mix in sunflower oil and salt
• Spread on a thin baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes (flip halfway through)

Beets:

• Wash the beet (no need to peel)
• Cut the stems to within 1/2 inch. Cut off the root.
• Submerge entire beet in boiling water, simmer for approximately 35-45 minutes (depending on size)
• When done, run under cool water and peel skin off.
• Cut into wedges

Tempah:

I bought TJ Organic Tempah, which comes precooked. I decided to sauté it in white wine vinegar for extra flavor.

Trader Joe’s Tempah

Protein Powerhouse

Quinoa:

• Rinse and strain (using a fine mesh strainer). Quinoa is rinsed (and sometimes soaked for up to 5 minutes) because it naturally comes with a bitter coating called saponin.
• Boil vegetable stock and mix in rinsed quinoa. Reduce to a simmer for approximately 10-15 minutes.

Combine all ingredients together, season with pepper and enjoy!

Final Product!

Honesty time!

I usually boil the beets but today I tried to bake them (in tin foil) and failed. I did not bake them long enough so I needed to put them back in the oven. I also bought golden beets and they did not come out so well either. SO in conclusion, boil the beets. You can even cut them into smaller pieces before you boil them for a fasters cooking time!

For more Beet recipes, head over to Heather’s blog, Better With Veggies.

What is your favorite beet recipe?