Cooked beetroot, carrot, red pepper, squash salad w dill yoghurt dressing

I don’t like my salads to be a chewing chore, so I prefer steaming hard vegetables like carrots and beetroot, unless I am grating them finely in a slaw or Asian dish. These four match well: sweet carrot, earthy beets, waxy squash and fresh crisp peppers. I made this one with dill but rosemary (so good fresh, so bad dried) works like a dream.  I often think we get too stuck pairing herbs with foods in conventional ways that get stuck in one’s particular cultural norm. I was buying fish the other day and mentioned that I was cooking it with mint (see fish recipe) which brought cries of horror from the shoppers behind me. More fool them.

6 peeled carrots cut into bite size chunks, steamed until tender
3 peeled beets cut into bite size chunks, steamed until tender
1/2 butternut squash, cut into bite size chunks, steamed until tender
1 raw red pepper, de-seeded and sliced

Steam the root vegetables, add the red pepper and toss with the dressing.

Dressing
250g Greek yoghurt
1/2 tsp Maldon sea salt
1 garlic clove chopped finely
A squeeze of lemon
A glug of peppery olive oil
10g fresh dill (or use rosemary, chopped finely into the yoghurt)

Summer dips – beetroot and aubergine/ eggplant

Here are two of my favourite dips to make with Greek yoghurt on a summers day. The beetroot dip was shown to me by a Russian, it contains a hefty amount of raw garlic for such a small dish but he insisted this was how it was made in Georgia. The garlic fest. adds a hot tang to the earthy flavour of the beets, yum.

The aubergine dip is traditionally made by searing a plump, fresh aubergine over flame to give it a smoky flavour. When made like this (rather than in a conventional oven) I would not add the Greek yoghurt but leave the vegetable to star. This has always been known in our household as “poor man’s caviar.”

CDC beets (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Beetroot Dip

4                         medium beets, stalks and root    removed, scrubbed thoroughly

6 large                garlic cloves, peeled and chopped finely

6 heaped tbsp   Greek yoghurt

1/2tsp                  salt or to your taste

sprinkle of           paprika

Steam the beetroot for about 30-40mins or until soft enough for a knife to cut through with ease. On no account boil them or you will lose the fabulous colour. Mash the beets or use a food processor, mix in the other ingredients and serve with tortilla chips.

Aubergine dip

1                        large aubergine/egg plant

1                        lemon , juice of

3 tbsp heaped  Greek yoghurt

2 tbsp                chopped flat leaf-parsley or mint leaves

salt                     to taste

Prick the aubergine with a fork and bake in a fairly hot oven for about an hour until the skin is crisp, or better still barbecue it and scorch the skin.

Scoop out the soft flesh, chop with a knife then mash with a potato masher. Squeeze in the lemon juice, stir in the yoghurt. Add the chopped herbs and serve. Excellent on toast or eaten with crisp flat bread.