‘Tis the season of beets here on Bug Bites! Right when my dad and I walked into the farmer’s market in Houston over spring break we saw stacks beets in three colors- purple, golden, and candy cane. There’s not a big difference in flavor between the colors, but they sure look pretty!

This recipe is inspired by a salad I had a restaurant here in New Orleans called Maypop. I went with my dad right before Mardi Gras, and we had a salad with beets that also had a large crispy crouton with Chaat seasoning. Chaat is an indian spice blend often found in street food. We did our own doctoring of spices in this recipe, which paired beautifully with the beloved goat milk yogurt that I used in my last recipe. Let’s get cookin’.

We’ll start by roasting the beets. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the tops off the beets (save those babies for the next recipe…coming soon), and give them a rinse. They don’t need to be perfectly clean because we’ll remove the skins after the beets have roasted.

Wrap the beets in foil and drizzle them with olive oil.

Tuck them into a baking dish and roast them in the oven for 45-60 minutes. When they’re done you should be able to pierce them easily with a fork.

While the beets roast, make the dressing. I’m using goats milk yogurt as my base. Beets go so well with a creamy element and the sourness of the yogurt pairs perfectly with the sweet  and earthy beets.

I kept the dressing simple with just a pinch of salt and pepper, and a little orange zest. We got the oranges from the farmer’s market too!

Set the dressing aside. Next, we’ll make croutons. My dad and I decided on a really nice sourdough loaf from the baker at the market. Real sourdough is made from a fermented dough, which accounts for the sour flavor and aids in digestion. Bread gets a bad rep, but sourdough is actually nutritious, as well as delicious.

Warm oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cube the bread and toss it in the skillet until every side of each cube is coated in oil. Toast the cubes, tossing them often to ensure each side gets crisp. When they are golden brown, remove the croutons from the heat.

We did some research on indian spice blends and made one for the croutons. Luckily, my dad had most of the exotic ingredients the blends called for, but they aren’t common household spices. If your pantry is limited, season the croutons with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and cumin.

My dad and I had to hold each other back from eating all of these before even assembling the salad. They are so good dipped in the yogurt dressing- wow I am drooling just thinking about it.

The addition to our spice blend is ground amchur. This is a sour mango powder found in indian cooking. It is made from unripe green mangos and had a sour, citrusy flavor. Combine the spices and season the croutons while they are still warm.

The beets should be done roasting by now. Let sit until they are cool enough to handle. Using a moist paper towel, (Hey why do people hate the word moist? I’ve never understood why all of humanity decided that was a gross word. If you know please comment below.) rub the beets until the skin is removed. If they beets are fully roasted, this should be easy to do. Cut the beets into one inch cubes.

Admire how cool it is that nature made this variety of beets. That is a requirement for the recipe.

Time to assemble. This is where I prove that I watch wayyy too much Chef’s Table on Netflix. Please imagine the inspiring theme music playing as we construct this plate.

Spoon out a layer of goat yogurt dressing.

Then arrange the beets and croutons in a purposeful-but-made-to-look-random layout.

Annddd we threw some carrot ribbons in there for good measure. I did have pics of that happening at one point, but a lot was happening that day, and some of my pictures didn’t save. That is the tragedy of someone who is horrible with technology trying to start a blog. I beg your pardon, but luckily carrot ribbons can just be made by running a vegetable peeler over a peeled carrot. We had orange and yellow carrots, which echoed the colors of the beets ever so nicely.

Bon AppeBEET!

*spongebob voice* three minutes later…

Like this recipe if you think the salad is prettier, comment if you think the aftermath is.

Beet Salad

Level: Easy

Serves: 2

Ingredients 

4 beets, various colors

4 t olive oil

1 large carrot, peeled

For the dressing:

1/2 cup goat milk yogurt

1 1/2 T orange zest

Salt and pepper to taste

For the croutons:

1/2 loaf sourdough bread, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 T olive oil

1/2 t salt

1/2 t black pepper

1/2 t cumin

1/2 t ground amchur powder

1/4 t cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle the beets with olive oil. Wrap individually in tin foil and place in a baking dish. Roast in the oven for 45-60 minute. Allow beets to cool, then rub with a moist towel until skins are removed. Cut into 1 inch cubes.

Using a vegetable peeler, cut long ribbons from the carrot. Set aside. Combine yogurt, orange zest, and salt and pepper to make the dressing. To make the croutons, warm olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Toss bread cubes in oil to coat and then toast for 5-10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from heat, but while the croutons are still warm, toss them in spice blend. Let cool.

Arrange beets, carrot ribbons, dressing, and croutons. Enjoy!