If it hasn’t just been pulled fresh from the ground and still has all the leaves on, it looks like it Beetroot not really sexy. You can get it on the market all year round and it is cheap. For a short time, the striped version brought her a little more attention.
In any case, it stains your fingers when you peel it (but this goes away immediately or you put on gloves), which is why many people buy it pre-cooked. This has to end now. Beetroot is stunning when combined with Orange, thyme, Feta and Arugula. And not as a salad, but sliced and cooked with these tiny noodles.
If half an hour of stirring for a risotto is too much for you, heaven send pasta rice, also known as orzo. The whole thing is finished after 10 minutes. And anyone who also has a stylish grater attachment for the food processor also has an advantage. This means that the grating is done in a minute.
Sometimes I add a clove of garlic and a shallot, which I sauté a little before adding the grated beets and pasta. And sometimes I replace the thyme with za’atar (an oriental spice blend).
Goat cream cheese has also proven to be an excellent alternative to feta, and a goat cheese roll can also be easily crumbled on top.
In the past it was always said “drink beetroot juice, it’s good for the eyes and the blood”. Today it should be said “eat more of it because it tastes great”. The fact that she is healthy is of course her big plus.
And now I wish you a wonderful Christmas!!!
Beetroot orzo with orange, thyme and feta
For two
250 g fresh beetroot, peeled and grated
150 g pasta rice (also called orzo, kritharaki or risoni, whether with or without egg)
a scant teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 large untreated (organic) orange
2 tbsp olive oil
½ bunch arugula, coarsely chopped
100g feta
To decorate, cut the greens of a spring onion into rolls
Rinse the orange with hot water, dry it and peel off ¾ of the peel with a zester. Then squeeze the orange.
Put the olive oil in a pot, heat it up and add the grated beets along with the pasta and salt. Add 100 ml of orange juice and top up with another 300 ml of water.
Stir.
Add some of the orange zest and the thyme and simmer over medium heat for about 8 minutes.
Fold in the rocket and sprinkle with the remaining orange zest, spring onion and feta.
Tip: This also works great with yellow beets or ringlet beets.
