To launch the 2020 Thrive Kitchen schedule, I did my annual cooking demo at Macy’s San Francisco in Union Square. It was an enthusiastic full house, and I am grateful to everyone who came out, enjoyed the food and asked excellent questions! Here is one of the recipes I demonstrated. You may be familiar with traditional tzatziki, the Greek yogurt and cucumber sauce which is often served with gyros, but there is also a version from the Eastern Mediterranean made with beets. Roasting the beets brings out their sweet, earthy flavor, and the violet hue of this dip makes a stunning display. For a colorful passed appetizer, serve on cucumber rounds. You can also use it as a dip with pita bread, chips or vegetables, or as a condiment with grilled meats.
If you’re in the San Francisco area, come take a class in the Thrive Kitchen! The 2020 schedule is below and we are currently registering for the January class!
Roasted Beet Tzatziki on Cucumber Rounds
Yield: 2 cups tzatziki/3 dozen rounds
Ingredients
1/2 pound beets
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp salt, adjust to taste
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup thick Greek style yogurt, more if desired
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 T finely chopped dill , plus more for garnish
1/2 T finely chopped mint
2 medium cucumbers
Technique
1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Remove greens from beets, and wash and dry unpeeled beets. Wrap each beet root in foil, making individual packets. Make sure to leave a little room around each beet and then seal tightly, so that they can steam inside their foil wrappers.
3. Place wrapped beets onto a baking sheet and roast in the preheated oven for 45 to 60 minutes, until just tender. (Check for tenderness with a fork. For this recipe, you do not want beets to be too soft or else they will not keep their texture when grated.) Allow to cool for about an hour.
4. Wearing disposable gloves, peel cooled, roasted beets. The skins should slip off easily by rubbing with your fingers. Grate the peeled, roasted beets with the large holes of a box grater. Set aside.
5. Mash the garlic with the salt in a mortar and pestle or with the edge of a chef’s knife. Add the lemon juice, and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
6. Put yogurt in a bowl and stir in the garlic mixture, grated beets, dill and mint. Add salt and pepper to taste. For a thinner consistency, stir in additional yogurt.
7. Peel cucumbers, leaving some strips of skin on for color, then cut into 1/2-in. slices. With a small spoon, scoop out some of the seeds on one side of each slice to make a little well for the tzatziki. Repeat for all slices.
8. Spoon about a teaspoon of tzatziki onto each cucumber slice. Refrigerate for an hour to firm up, and garnish each round with a dill frond before serving.
Nutrition info per round: 39 cal 3.1g carb 0.9 g fat 4.7 g protein 35 mg sodium 2.6 g sugars
Thanks for coming by! I’m looking forward to starting the 4th season of the Thrive Kitchen next month. Come join us! Call 415-833-3450 or email SFHealthEd@kp.org to register for the January class. Feeling social? Please follow us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/TheDoctorsSpicebox for more recipes and nutrition articles. To your health!
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