This recipe was conceptualized by Yotem Ottolenghi in his cookbook “Plenty”, I made it vegan and gltuen-free for our april brunch.  The recipe I have is not exact therefore I am not going to put it up on our website. I strongly suggest picking up the cookbook “Plenty” and playing around with some of his recipes. The book is simple and does justice to the vegetables that he works with. Simple.

Beets are a simple, delicious, and nutritious food, but after hearing the comments on this beet sandwich I realized that not many people know how to prepare beets the way I do. It’s really easy! Beets are not that intimidating. People think it is difficult to pair things with beets (Malloreigh doubted that this sandwich would be good, but it was in fact very delicious) but this was a really fantastic combination.

Beet Carpaccio

A “carpaccio” is officially thinly sliced raw beef or fish, but it’s just too good of a term for thinly sliced beets. It’s not really a carpaccio but we’ll call it that anyway.

Don’t peel the beets before you boil them – leaving the skin on helps to seal in the nutrients, which would otherwise be partially lost through boiling. If you’re using both red and golden beets, boil them separately to maintain the colour. As you may know, red beet juice will stain anything and everything it touches bright pink.

Separate the beets from the beet greens. Boil them whole in a pot filled with water over medium-high heat until a fork can easily pierce them – about 30 to 45 minutes, maybe longer.

Once the beets are boiled, let them cool – drain them into a colander and run cold water over them to speed this process. The skin should slough off easily, but if it doesn’t, use a paring knife or sharp vegetable peeler.

Now, your beets are ready to slice. Use a mandolin slicer to slice them thinly or use a sharp non-serrated knife.

Sliced beets will keep in the fridge for at least a week if you put them in a resealable container, but they are also pretty easy to eat in one sitting.

Beet Carpaccio Sandwich

This beet sandwich was simple and delicious. Sliced avocado, lightly toasted whole organic walnuts, thinly sliced smoked tofu, fresh arugula, and sliced beets were dashed with fresh ground pepper. The sourdough bread I used was drizzled with lemon and garlic infused olive oil. It was served with a side of potato salad.

Well, it’s March 17th, which means a) an excuse to celebrate and b) an excuse to make everything green. My first challenge of the day was to make arugula soup. It turned out pretty beautifully – and, of course, green.

Arugula Potato Leek Soup

1 red onion, diced
1 leek, white parts chopped
1 – 2 cloves garlic, minced
2 potatoes, chopped
1 tsp dried tarragon
1 cube vegetable bouillon
2 cups boiling water
Arugula – I had about 3/4 of a tub of it – use lots
Salt, to taste

Saute the onion, leek, and garlic in oil or margarine over medium-low heat in a large pot until soft and fragrant. Add potatoes, tarragon, and the bouillon cube; turn the heat up to medium; stir and let the potatoes cook in the oil. Stir them regularly, cooking for about 10 minutes.

Add water and arugula; if you didn’t add boiling water, turn the temp up to bring to a boil then turn down to simmer. Stir and put a top on the pot. Let the arugula wilt for 6 – 10 minutes. Test the potatoes to make sure they’re done – just press a knife into one; it should slice easily, like butter or something else similarly sexy.

Once all that’s done, use a hand blender to cream it up. Salt to taste.

I didn’t add nutritional yeast but I’m sure that would be delicious. Also, for extra decadence, you could make this really creamy by adding unsweetened, unflavoured almond/soy/whatever milk or even coconut milk. Just add it after the creaming stage, mix, and let the soup simmer for a bit.

Jen Clark photoUsing Jen’s photo for this because it’s much nicer than my own. This was my entry for our most recent vegan cookoff, which was pear-themed. I won! So I am here to share this lovely recipe with you. You can modify it in any way you like; I just found that this was a good combination of flavours. Click through for the recipe. (more…)