You don't usually think about Lime and Beets but these Hasselback Roasted Beets in Lime Butter will change your mind!
This is another 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.
You know what the surprise ingredient was? The fresh cilantro in the Lime Salsa. The lime and jalapeno give a bit of bite to the dish but it was the fresh cilantro that really stood out for me! I never would have thought to put them together.. and I admit I hesitated. I am so glad I went with it.. that is what made the dish for me! Oh..and that delicious Yogurt Cream... to die for!
You can serve this as a main dish if you are looking for a vegetarian meal or serves 8 as a side or appetizer.
This dish looks like it takes a long time to make... and it kinda does. But you can save a lot of time if you buy beets already cooked (Costco) or you can cook the beets up to a few days ahead. 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.
This dish is actually delicious and different enough that you won't mind the time it takes.
Chef's Tips for Hasselback Beets in Lime Butter
- Starting with pre-cooked beets saves a lot of time- whether you buy pre-cooked or may your a few days ahead.
- I made the effort to find Lime leaves as per the original recipe. I finally found them in a Chinese grocery store, frozen. The lime flavour they added was very mild so substituting fresh lime zest and juice does not detract from the recipe for me in any way.
- The lime zest should be strips. The fine 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 allows you to easily drip butter between the slices.
- You can make the lime butter and salsa a day or so ahead to save even more time.
There are large bags of fresh beets in the supermarkets right now so I have been going crazy with Beet Pickles, these Hasselbacks and some Balsamic Roasted Beets as well!
Hasselback Roasted Beets with Lime Butter
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 FacebookIngredients
- 8 medium to large beets
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 about 90 minutes or roasting about 90 minutes at 350°. I pressure cooked mine for 17 minutes. No matter which method- check periodically. When they are tender when pierced with a forkto 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.
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!