HOT HONEY BEETROOT, WHIPPED FETA

I’m very happy that it’s October. I love summer, obviously, but I’ve always been much more of an autumn and winter person. It’s when I feel most at home in the kitchen – pies, roasts, creamy things, all the food that seems to make more sense when it’s cold outside.

Beetroot is something I buy almost every week from now until spring. I nearly always bake it whole, wrapped tightly in parchment, rather than boiling it. The beetroot steams in its own juices as it cooks, and I find it keeps much more of its flavour that way. It takes a little while, but there’s nothing else for you to do while it’s in the oven.

For this hot-honey beetroot, I peel the beetroot while it’s still warm and let it sit in a mixture of honey, cider vinegar and chilli. The sweet, sharp marinade sinks into the beetroot whilst it rests, and you can make extra and keep it in the fridge to use in salads or alongside other things.

The whipped feta makes this into lunch. It’s a nice creamy, salty contrast against the sweet beetroot. The walnut, mint and dukkah crumb adds a nice bit of crunch, to finish it off. Eat it with some flatbread, and well – YUM.

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HOT HONEY BEETROOT, WHIPPED FETA, DUKKA CRUMB

I buy beetroot every week throughout the colder months. I'll mix up how I prepare it a little bit, but I particularly like it with something hot, sharp and a little sweet – like this.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes

Servings 2 servings

Ingredients

• 4 large beetroots
• 3 tbsp runny honey
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
• 125 g feta
• 40 g soured cream
• 2 walnut halves very finely chopped
• little handful mint finely chopped
• 1 tsp dukkah
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• flatbreads to serve

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°c (fan-assisted).

2. Scrub the beetroots under running water until they are clean and bright purple. Fold them into a tight parcel of baking parchment or tin foil (this helps them to steam as they bake), then place on a baking tray and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes-1 hour 30 minutes, or until the beetroot can be pierced through easily with a knife. Let them cool enough to touch.

3. Whilst the beetroot is cooling, you can make the hot honey. Combine the honey, apple cider vinegar, chilli flakes and a good pinch of salt in a mixing bowl. Peel the skin from the beetroots, chop them into wedges and stir them through the hot honey. Let them sit for 15 minutes, to macerate.

4. To make the whipped feta, combine the feta and a good few grinds of black pepper in a small food processor. Blitz for a minute or so, to break it up. Add the soured cream, then blend again until it's just about whipped (if it's too thick to blend in your food processor, you can add a little more soured cream, but try to keep it as thick as you can). Taste and add a pinch of salt, if you think it needs it.

5. To make the nutty topping, combine the chopped walnuts, mint, dukkah and a little pinch of salt in a small bowl and give it a stir.
6. Spread the whipped feta on a serving dish, layer the beetroot on top and drizzle with a little of the hot honey from its mixing bowl. Top with the nutty topping, then eat with lots of warm flatbreads.

Plenty more beetroot recipes here for you!