You don't usually think about Lime and Beets but these Hasselback Roasted Beets in Lime Butter will change your mind! And cilantro adds a surprise twist to the Lime Salsa.
What Makes This Recipe Special?
- This is a most unusual vegetable dish, full of flavour.
- The dish is substantial enough that it could be the center of a vegetarian meal.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- This is an Ottolenghi adaptation.... adaptation only because he uses some Middle Eastern ingredients that are not readily available to many of us. So I have substituted what you can easily find in your North American local supermarket.
- Beets - The recipe has instructions to cook your own beets, but if you find pre-cooked beets, it will save you a lot of time!
- Fresh cilantro and jalapeno peppers are standout elements of this dish. Don't skip the cilantro unless you are absolutely averse to it.
- Fresh Limes are needed to give you a bright flavour.
- Adding whipping cream to Greek yogurt adds some richness and silkiness. You could use just yogurt if you have a favourite, thick yogurt.
How To Make It
- There are 4 parts to the recipe: the beets, the Lime Butter, Lime Salsa and the Yogurt cream. The cooking of the beets is the longest part, so if you can find whole, pre-cooked beeets it will save you a lot of time. Many Costcos now carry pre-cooked beets.
- You can cook your own beets a day or 2 ahead of time, and that will save you time on the day you plan to serve the dish.
- The Lime Butter and Lime Salsa can also be made ahead. So you can get the different parts ready and do the final roast and Yogurt Cream just before serving.
- The lime zest should be in strips. The finely grated texture just got lost in the mix.
- Err on the side of caution when slicing the beets. Be careful not to slice right through or the beet will fall apart. Leave a good ¼" margin at least.
- Don't worry about brushing the lime butter between the slices for the first basting or two. As the beets crisp up, the slices open naturally and allow you to easily drip butter between the slices.
You can serve this as a main dish if you are looking for a vegetarian meal or serves 8 as a side or appetizer.
Suggested Menu
Air Fried Chicken Cutlets
Avocado Black Been Salad with Cilantrol Dressing
Hasselback Roasted Beets
Lime Angel Food Cake
Wine Pairing
A crisp white wine, such as a Sauvignon Blanc, unoaked Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio will work well here to offset the Yogurt cream.
For a red, a Mourvedre, GSM blend or Malbec would all work.
Related Recipes
Hasselback Roasted Beets with Lime Butter
You will never think of beets as ho hum after you try these. Baste your beets with lime butter while reheating and then top with Lime Salsa and a rich Yogurt Cream.
If you tried this, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know it went in the 📝 comments below!
Save Print Pin FacebookServings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 8 medium to large beets see Note 1.
Lime Butter
- 3.5 oz unsalted butter
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 4 limes juice and zest. Use 1 teaspoon of zest for the lime butter and 1 tablespoon lime juice. Reserve remaining zest and juice for the Salsa below and garnish.
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Lime Salsa
- 2 tablespoon fresh lime zest leftover from above
- 2 tablespoon lime juice leftover from above
- ½ clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon jalapeno pepper minced (can sub other hot pepper if desired)
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro minced
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Yogurt Cream
- 6 Tbsps whipping cream
- 5 tablespoon Greek yogurt
- olive oil for drizzling
- pinch of sea salt
Instructions
Beets
- Wash beets and trim the stalk end. Cook until tender through. This can be boiling or roasting at 350° about 90 minutes. I pressure cooked mine for 17 minutes. No matter which method- check periodically. When they are tender when pierced with a fork in the center they are done.
- Allow cooked beets to cool trim, the root end and pare or rub the skins off them.
- Lay the beets on their side and slice about every half inch down almost to the bottom. Stop about ¼" from the bottom. Be careful not to slice through. Err on the side of caution here - better to have a less deep cut than cut through. (The beets will fan out where sliced when they roast in the oven with the lime butter.)
Lime Butter
- While beets are cooking, melt the butter in sauce pan with the olive oil. Add the lime zest, ginger and garlic. and cook about 4 minutes or until the butter mix starts to bubble. Remove sauce pan from the heat and allow the butters mix to rest and infuse with flavour for at least 40 minutes. Can be more.
- When done infusing, strain out the solids and add the lime juice and sea salt and set aside until needed.
Lime Salsa
- Mix all the Salsa ingredients together and set aside until needed.
Yogurt Cream
- Whip the cream in a medium bowl. Gently fold in the yogurt and sea salt. Refrigerate until needed.
Final Roast and Assembly
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Place beets on a parchment lined baking sheet. Allow plenty of room between them.
- Brush lime butter over the beets and make sure some gets in between the slices. You will roast the beats for 75 minutes, basting with the lime butter every 20 minutes. As the beets roast the slices will fan out and it will be easier to get some lime butter between the slices.
- Beets will have crispy edges when you remove them from the oven. Allow them to cool 5-10 minutes.
- To serve - spread the yogurt cream around the bottom of a serving plate. Position the beets on top. Drizzle any remaining lime butter over the top. Sprinkle the salsa evenly over the beets and between the slices. Finish with a final sprinkle of sea salt and a drizzle of about 2 teaspoons of fresh lime juice.
Notes
Note 1: If you are using pre-cooked whole beets, start with Step 3 under the Beets section.
Note 2: This will serve 4 as a main dish or 8 a side or appetizer.
Nutrition is for 2 beets per person.
Wine Pairing
A crisp white wine, such as a Sauvignon Blanc, unoaked Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio will work well here to offset the Yogurt cream.
For a red, a Mourvedre, GSM blend or Malbec would all work.
Nutrition
Calories: 694kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 66g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 35g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 85mg | Sodium: 875mg | Potassium: 675mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 1063IU | Vitamin C: 32mg | Calcium: 94mg | Iron: 2mg
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Sara Fleming
Amazing! I made this as a test run the other night because I plan on serving it as part of a three part main course for Christmas dinner (with lobster pasta and lamb chops as separate small plate entrees). It was meaty, salty, tangy, and rich. The only thing I am going to change, just to beef it up as a full main course will be to serve it over a salad of fennel, arugula, and grapes with a lime ginger dressing and drizzle the yogurt cream on top over the salsa.
thewineloverskitchen
Thanks for sharing Sara! I love your idea of the salad with it!
ralph hetke
Excellent!