Vegan Recipe: Soy Roasted Beetroot

Beetroot is one of my favourite foods. Soy sauce is one my favourite seasonings. Kikkoman is by far my favourite soy sauce.  And now this is one of my favourite dishes. First I tried this simple recipe as a side dish for dinner, then had the cold left overs in a salad the next day. I'm not gonna lie: it was delicious both times.

Soy Roasted Beetroot

Ingredients

4-6 medium boiled beetroot
2 -3 tbs Kikkoman soy sauce
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 tbs agave nectar
1 tsp rice vinegar
dash of pepper

1. Cut beetroot into quarters and place in a roasting tray.
2. In a separate small bowl, mix soy sauce, oil, agave nectar and vinegar together. Then pour over the beetroot. Rub the sauce into each of the beets making sure that they're all covered. Pepper to taste.
3. Place in the oven for 15 - 10 mins on Gas Mark 6/400F/200C giving it the occasional shake to the them a roasted on all sides.
4. Serve hot or place in the refrigerator to eat cold with salad.

Bring on the Beetroot Hummus

Beetroot Hummus

Hummus. Delicious hummus. I'm not sure what I'd do without you. Who ever decided to blend up chick peas and tahini into that delectably delightful dip should be given a medal for contributions to mankind. I commend you for making sandwiches less boring and flat bread more tasty.

There is a bit of a knack to making homemade hummus though. I have definitely had a few rough experiences ending up with a pile of bean mush that never quite got the tahini/chickpea balance right and totally missed that garlicky sweet spot. After a few tries I realised that the real secret to making hummus that tastes as good or better than what you can buy from the shop is: garlic powder. No joke. This makes all the difference. You can actually spread the garlic flavour all the way through your hummus rather than ending up in a situation where you taste nothing until you bite into an overly spicy garlic chunk. Lame. I know it sounds like a cheat, but garlic powder is amazing, seriously.

This vegan beetroot hummus recipe is a take on the classic one of my favourite root vegetables. I like it because it's tasty and purple.

Beetroot Hummus

3 boiled beetroot
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon tahini
juice of half a lime
1 tablespoon olive oil

Cut beetroot into quarters and place in a food processor. Add all other ingredients and blend until you have a chunky mixture. Now it should be ready for dipping, spreading or keeping for later.

I put it on some flat bread, because I love flat bread.

Vegan Sandwich: Tangy Tamarind Beetroot Sandwich

Vegan sandwiches are remarkably hard to come by. Hummus and roasted vegetables are lovely but ever so predictable. I'm not strictly vegan, but as a lactose in tolerant vegetarian, I eat a lot of vegan food. When I'm on the go and in need of a vegetarian lunch time solution, checking the counter at the corner shop or my local deli, I am often left sad and hungry because all their offerings are full of flesh and cheese. Everybody loves a good sammich and I don't see why I should go without! 

You've seen my recipe for Mediterranean Roasted Vegetable Sandwich on Toasted Turkish Bread with Homemade Vegan Olive Tapenade and Tempeh 'Chik'n' Salad Sandwich, my latest addition to my vegan sandwich roster is this tasty little flat bread number with beetroot and 'slaw. Yum!

 

Tangy Tamarind Beetroot Sandwich

2-3 boiled beetroot (boil yourself or use vacum pack style)
1 teaspoon Green Tamarind Pickle
Juice of 1 lemon
approx 1/2 cup water
flat bread - something thick like a chappati or paratha
2-3 tablespoons flat bread
3- 4 leave of Spring greens
1 carrot
1/2 onion
2-3 tablespoons of vegannaise/mayonnaise

1. Slice your beetroot into 1/4 inch thick disks and place in a long bowl.
2. Add your Green Tamarind Pickle, lemon juice and water to the beetroot and let them marinade while you make your coleslaw. Make sure that all the beets are covered.
3. For the coleslaw, finely chop greens, and onion and mix with vegannaise/mayonnaise until fully covered. This s a vey basic 'slaw without too much seasoning as I don't want to over power the beets. Let stand.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan and saute the beets until you've got a few crunchy bits and they're hot all the way through. Add the marinade to the pan to make sure they don't dry out...they should be hot and juicy when your done. Remove from heat and let stand while you heat the flat bread.
5. In a hot pan(I used the same one!) add a tablespoon of oil and heat your flat bread until it's hot and foldable.Then remove from heat and assemble you tasty lunch. Place the beets on half of the flat bread, slaw on top and fold over for serious tastieness.

Marinating Beetroot

Sauteed Beetroot with Crunchy Bits

Warming Paratha Flat Bread

Tangy Tamarind Beetroot Sandwich