Posts tagged as:

beetroot

Roast Beetroot and Macadamia Dip

by Linda on May 10, 2011

roast beetroot and macadamia dip

This is the second of my Halloween dips.  This one disappeared even faster than the pumpkin one, with the kids happily hoeing into beetroot.  I have beetroot in the garden and macas from our trees, and another batch in the oven right now, the second one since. I’ve developed a fetish for beetroot dip open sandwiches for lunch.

Beetroot is a super-superfood.  That deep red colour is a giveaway.  It is extremely rich in antioxidants, vitamins including folic acid, and a big range of minerals. And there’s even a few hints it might be good for fending off dementia, which, every so often, I swear I must be getting!

The Recipe:

Peel and chop 3 medium sized beetroot into bite sized chunks.

Oil a baking tray, and spread the beetroot on it with

  • 2 cloves of garlic (skin on)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seed

Bake in a medium oven for 20 minutes or so, until the beetroot is tender to a fork.

Spread ¼ cup of macadamias on another baking tray and roast them for around 10 minutes until they just start to brown.

Squeeze the garlic out of its skin and tip the lot into a food processor. Add 3 dessertspoons of lemon juice and a good pinch of salt.

Blend until it is finely chopped but not smooth, adding a little olive oil if necessary to get the texture right.

It’s better the next day, if you can  wait that long!

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Chocolate Beetroot Birthday Cake with Boysenberry Cream

by Linda on May 9, 2010

This isn’t really a “Witches Kitchen version of healthy” recipe.  But birthdays are exceptions.  I made a double mix for Johanna’s birthday and the extra cake went on to Odin’s birthday – Johanna’s 53rd and Odin’s 2nd – and both sets of party-goers wanted the recipe.  Proves kids do have taste!  This is the kind of cake you need if you plan to stay up dancing all night, or playing chasie all afternoon.

The Recipe

Turn the oven on to medium to heat up.  Grease a 23cm deep cake tin and line the bottom with a circle of greaseproof paper.

Cream together 250g butter and 250 grams (1½ packed cups) of dark brown sugar.  Add 4 eggs and a teaspoon of vanilla essence and beat  in.

Sift together 2 cups of self raising flour, 2 big tablespoons of cocoa powder, and a teaspoon of baking powder. Stir into the butter-sugar-egg mix.

Add 500 grams of grated raw beetroot and 100 grams of grated dark chocolate.  The Ethical Consumer Guide is a good way to check for free trade brands of  chocolate – there are several to choose from and they are easily available.

Pour the mix into your cake tin and bake for about an hour, until the centre springs back and a skewer comes out clean. You need the middle of a medium oven – if it is too hot, you may need to put a piece of foil on top for the last bit to stop the top burning.
Cool for a few minutes in the tin, then turn out and allow to cool completely before icing.

The Icing

This is the simplest ever way to top a cake, and it works brilliantly.  Beat together ordinary cream and jam until thick.  Stop before it turns to butter! For this cake, you will need about 100 ml of cream and a good tablespoon of jam -  just keep adding jam until you get the right depth of colour.    Boysenberry jam creates a good deep pink coloured cream before it gets too sickly sweet.

Add birthday candles and about 20 people to help eat it!

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Chocolate Beetroot Brownies

by Linda on April 27, 2010


The kids are back at school after the holidays, so it is time to get back into lunch box baking. This is the ninth in my Muesli Bar Challenge series.

For those of you who are new to the site, the Challenge is about my bet that it is possible to make lunch box treats that fit the Witches Kitchen definition of healthy and ethical,  and that my school age reviewers prefer to the overpackaged junk food marketed as suitable for kids’ lunch boxes.  They also have to be be able to compete with supermarket muesli bars in terms of quick and easy, and in terms of cost.

The reviewers come from four different, very normal families and range from kindergarden to high school ages.

This week’s Challenger uses pecans and apple (both in season) and a secret ingredient – beetroot.  Beets are a super food, rich in anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals and fibre, and a specially rich source of folic acid, which is important for whole range of  functions. Chocolate is also a good source of anti-oxidants and actually good for you in a healthy recipe!

The Recipe

I used a 23cm round cake pan for this recipe, but it would probably slice up more neatly in a square pan.  Grease and line the pan with greaseproof paper.  Turn the oven on to heat up.

Sift together 1 cup of wholemeal self-raising flour, half a cup of cocoa powder, and one teaspoon of baking powder.

Mix in half a cup of dark brown sugar, half a cup of chopped pecans, and a quarter of a cup of choc chips.

Add a cup of grated raw beetroot and one large granny smith apple also grated.

In another bowl, blend together three eggs, half a cup (150 ml) mild flavoured oil, (I like to use grapeseed oil), and a teaspoon of vanilla.  Add to the other bowl and stir together to combine.

Turn out into the paper-lined cake pan and bake for 30 minutes or so in a moderate oven, till a skewer comes out clean.

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