roasted beets with whipped goat cheese, pistachios & mint

+ my fool-proof method for roasting beets

Lately I’ve been too busy keeping two small humans alive to bother with covering up our small patch of fall/winter veggies to protect them from the *very* cold and frosty nights we’ve been having, and you know what? The veggies are TOTALLY FINE. Dare I say they are thriving?

Yes, they get a bit frost-bit in the early mornings, but by the afternoon they look (and taste) as good as ever. I honestly thought all our broccoli, cabbage, beets, carrots, etc would be long gone by this point due to my utter neglect, but there they are, happy as ever. Go freaking figure.

Tough as nails vegetables

I’m taking this as a sign that maybe we’re made of tougher stuff than we give ourselves credit for, and we can do freaking hard things. I’m sending positive vibes to everyone working through all the hard things right now… channel your inner broccoli! You got this.

(Side note… you know what’s NOT hard? This week’s delishhhh and colorful recipe for roasted beets with whipped goat cheese, pistachios & mint. Hot dang, it’s a good one.. keep reading for the full recipe, available for paid subscribers!)

Need some culinary inspiration? Here’s my weekly round up of hyper-seasonal recipes from other awesome Substack writers to help you eat like a farmer this week:

• Broccoli-Chickpea Salad – Ali Slagle /

  40 Ingredients Forever

• Turmeric Broccoli, Tofu and Rice soup –

  Hetty Lui McKinnon
  /
  To Vegetables, With Love

• Pork Chops with Apples & Polenta –

  Caroline Chambers
  /
  What To Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking

• Mushroom Leek Jam Galette –

  katie
  /
  the sunday stack

When I’m developing recipes each week to help y’all eat like farmers, I’ve decided every recipe must meet three essential criteria:

1) Use produce that’s in-season and ideally locally sourced (ie, around here, that means no heirloom tomatoes in December)

2) Minimal fuss (ie, no complicated steps, minimal dishes to clean, etc)

3) Maximum deliciousness (ie, gotta have a WOW factor)

I’m happy to report that today’s recipe for roasted beets with whipped goat cheese, pistachios & mint absolutely checks all three of those boxes. Earlier this week, I dug up some (admittedly very neglected) beets from the garden, and I was determined to make something beautiful out of those ugly looking roots.

I landed on this dish, which involves simply roasting some beets (see below for my fool-proof method), then putting them over a luxurious bed of salty + tangy whipped goat cheese, and topping it all with crunchy pistachios, pomegranate seeds, and fresh mint. She’s colorful, she’s vibrant, she’s earthy, she’s bright… she’s the easiest and most delicious way to eat beets this winter.

I honestly think this is an IDEAL dish to serve/bring to your upcoming holiday parties, because it’s super colorful and festive looking, very simple to prepare, and it’s meant to be enjoyed at room temperature, so you don’t have to rush around making sure it’s hot before serving.

If you’ve already got cooked beets on hand, then the rest of this recipe comes together in under 10 minutes. Under 10 minutes people! (Side note, you can totally get pre-cooked beets from the store if roasting them yourself isn’t in the cards. You do you!)

Roasting beets!

A few helpful recipe notes:

• My fool-proof method to roast (and peel) beets – start by scrubbing the beet roots clean, then put them in a 9x13 pyrex dish (or other rimmed baking tray), and add 1 cup of water to the dish (the water is key, as it creates steam and makes the beets nice and juicy). Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and roast for 1 - 1.5 hours, until the beets are tender enough to very easily pierce to the center with a small knife. Allow the beets to cool, then use a clean towel + your hands to peel off the outer skin.

• This recipe calls for a whipped goat cheese mixture that also includes greek yogurt… if you don’t have any goat cheese, skip it and use 1.5 cups yogurt! And if you want to jazz up the cheese/yogurt mixture, you can absolutely add some fresh herbs, lemon zest, spices, etc to the mix.

• Don’t have beets? This recipe would still be great with roasted carrots or winter squash in place of the beets.

---

Keep reading for the full recipe, including a handy 1-page PDF for easy printing.

Access to my weekly recipe is only available to paid subscribers (free subscribers get access to the full recipes once a month, on the 1st Friday).

To get this deliciousness EVERY week, consider joining as a paid subscriber. You’ll also get access to my full recipe archive, gardening resource library, monthly giveaways, and you’ll be able to join our comment and chat sections.

Roasted Beets with Whipped Goat Cheese, Pistachios & Mint

Serves 4-6