I first made this, believe it or not, as a scraps supper (leftovers cobbled together into a meal of sorts). We had leftover bulgar wheat from the day before which I had fried, but needed something to serve with it. The fridge was a little sparse but somehow I got this meal out of it. My husband talked about it for two days (+10 husband points to me).

It’s great for lunch or a light dinner. The beets would also be beautiful with a vegan sour cream (which I’m yet to devise) but hang tight on that recipe!

Roasted Beets with Kale, Pesto and Tahini Cream

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Ingredients

For the Beets

5 small beets (stems removed and scrubbed clean)

For the Kale

3 tbsp olive oil
5 leaves of kale (destemmed)
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
Good pinch of salt

For the Pesto

1 clove garlic
2 tbsp pine nuts
60 g fresh basil (chopped roughly, stalks included)
2 tbsp vegan Parmesan (I use Follow Your Heart)
2 tsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp maldon salt
8 good grinds of black pepper
7-8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

For the Tahini Cream

4 tbsp tahini
1/4 tsp maldon salt
1/4 tsp garlic granules
Pinch black pepper
150 ml oat milk
1/4 tsp lemon juice

For Plating

2 tbsp chopped toasted hazelnuts

Instructions

To Make the Beets

Preheat the oven to 200c. Wrap each beet individually in one layer of tinfoil and roast for 40 mins.
Remove from the oven and open the tinfoil. Allow the beets to cool until you are able to handle them. Peel off the skins and discard. Slice the beets width-ways into 1/2cm discs. Set aside until the rest of your ingredients are prepped.

To Make the Kale

Boil the kale in a large pan of water for five minutes. Remove and drain thoroughly.
In a medium saucepan add the olive oil and place over a medium heat. Add the crushed garlic and brown gently. Add the boiled kale and sauté gently for around four minutes. Remove from the heat.

To Make the Pesto

In a small dry frying pan over medium heat, add the pine nuts and toast for a few minutes until starting to brown.
Into the bowl of a blender or a nutribullet, add all the pesto ingredients. Blend until quite smooth but slightly chunky. Set aside.

To Make the Tahini Cream

Put all ingredients in a clean jam jar and shake well to combine. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.

To Plate Up

Plate up in the order as pictured: kale, beets, tahini cream and pesto. Top with the chopped toasted hazelnuts and a drizzle of olive oil.
Serve with bulgar wheat, couscous or just some fresh bread!

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