Hello everyone! I decided to add a recipe on here that I absolutely love! It's almost too easy... When I was living in a hostel in Argentina, there were some Russian guests who taught me this simple dish. Beets are a common theme in Russian cooking, and it was nice to see first hand an easy way to prepare them. This dish is meant to be a spread to put on bread, but I've been know to come home tipsy and just straight up eat a whole batch straight from the bowl haha.
Here's what you need:
5 medium sized beets
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup walnuts
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional:
1/4 cup Vegan Mayonnaise (I used Grapeseed Oil Veganaise)
Nuts or seeds to sprinkle on top! (I used sunflower seeds)
Cheap and easy ingredients, right?
Okay, first go ahead and wash off the beets. You can leave the leaves on or not, it's up to you. Boil a pot of water and add the beets, skin and all. If you left the leaves, let them rest out of the pot and them later as a handle
Let the beets boil until a fork is easily inserted. Approximately 45 minutes but time can vary drastically so I recommend checking after 30 minutes, then in 15 minute intervals.
Remove from boiling water and set in a bowl with ice water. Let cool. After the beets are cool enough to handle, removing the skin is so easy! It should slide right off. Discard the skin with care because the beet juice can stain!
Rinse off the peeled beets and then use a cheese grater to grate them into a bowl. It's so easy!
Then use the same cheese grater to grate two peeled cloves of garlic. This recipe is waaaay better the more raw garlic is in it. Depending on the potency of the cloves this may be too much for some people or not enough for others. Be sure to taste test as you go if you are a garlic wimp ;).
Mix in the veganaise and finely chopped walnuts, then add salt and pepper to taste. If you want less calories don't add the veganaise. But it helps hold everything together so sometimes it's worth it.
Voila! You're done! Super simple. Slice up some rye bread or anything hardy, and use as a spread. Or, if you're like me, just eat it as is! Hope you like having an easy go-to beet recipe straight from
Russia. Enjoy!
*New Update!!!*
Hello everyone! I just made the greatest discovery ever. Ok... at least for those of us that love beets and also happen to be slightly lazy.
If you are someone lucky enough to live in the United States and have a Costco nearby, I have a great tip that can take this from a 2 hour snack to a 10 minute snack. I'm sure they have this brand elsewhere as well, but you'll have to look for it on your own if you don't have a Costco nearby. It's called "Love Beets".
Basically it's boiled and skinned beets packaged into groups of 3 or 4 and vacuum packed without preservatives or anything. Of course you'd be paying for the convenience and packaging, but let's be real. Sometimes it's worth it.
