Listening to Yotam talk about his food, I turned to the Google Machine to find one he spoke about. This recipe for beetroot with saffron yoghurt appealed for so many reasons. Other than the health benefits of adding yoghurt to beets, it is a great dish to make ahead, which allows the flavours to develop.
Head straight on to the Recipe For ♥ Beetroot With Saffron Yoghurt ♥
Let’s talk about beetroot
This root vegetable is most commonly dark red but also comes in bright crimson. It has an earthy flavour, and can be eaten both raw and cooked. Cooking methods include steaming and boiling, but for me, the best is roasting. I will buy ready cooked beetroot if I want to make a quick pickle, but tinned beetroot are something I would never add to my shopping cart. Beetroot stands up well to spices and goes perfectly with dairy. This is one of the reasons I decided to make beets with saffron yoghurt. In keeping with using the entire vegetable, baby beet leaves can be used raw, or made into pesto. For mature beetroot, cook the leaves as you would do with spinach.
Saffron, the most expensive spice in the world
Known as red gold, South Africa is about to step up to the world’s stage with producing this spice. Offering local farmers huge returns of over €9000.00 per kilogram, this unique crop could aid economic growth. Saffron comes from the crocus sativus, and the stigma and styles are collected by hand. These threads are then dried to be used as both a food seasoning and colouring agent. The fact that it is so labour intensive is what makes it so expensive. And because it needs 440 000 threads to make up just one kilogram. The good thing is that if you use a high quality saffron, you do not need many threads to add the distinctive yellow colour to your dish. Add too much saffron and your flavour profile will be overpowering. The more stigmas your bottle of saffron contains, the better quality it is.
Take a look at this inspiring recipe for ♥ Beetroot With Saffron Yoghurt ♥ from Lavender and Lime #LavenderAndLime Share on X
Click on the links for conversions and notes.
Beetroot With Saffron Yoghurt
Ingredients
for the beetroot:
- 650 g baby beetroots, skin on and scrubbed
- 1 small head garlic, excess paper removed
- 50 g butter
- 162.5 mls olive oil
- 0.625 mls fine salt
for the yoghurt sauce:
- 10 mls boiling water
- 10 saffron threads
- 200 g thick yoghurt
- 1 lime, zest and juice
- 0.625 mls fine salt
bringing it together:
- 5 mls olive oil
- 20 g slivered almonds
- 0.625 mls chilli flakes
- flaked salt for sprinkling
Method
for the beetroot:
- Preheat the oven to 200° Celsius
- Line an oven proof baking dish with foil, with enough excess to cover the beetroot and place the beetroot into the dish *
- Cut the top off the head of garlic and place into the dish, cut side up
- Place the butter into a microwave proof jug and blitz until melted
- Add the oil, whisk to combine and then pour over the beetroot
- Cover the beetroot with the excess foil as tightly as possible then place into the oven for an hour
- Remove the dish from the oven, open the foil and leave until cool enough to handle
- When cooled, remove the beetroots from the oil, trim and peel them, discarding the skin
- Place them into a bowl, sprinkle the salt over them and add 15mls of the cooking oil to the bowl
- Mix well, and set aside
for the yoghurt sauce:
- Place the boiling water into a small bowl, add the saffron threads and leave to steep
- Squeeze the garlic out of the skin into a small bowl and mash with a fork
- Add the yoghurt, saffron threads and water, lime juice and zest and the salt
- Stir to combine and place into the fridge
bringing it together:
- Place the oil into a small frying pan and place over a medium temperature
- When the oil shimmers add the almonds and toss until they turn golden brown
- Add the chilli flakes, give one final toss and set aside on a plate lined with paper towel to cool
- Spoon the yoghurt onto your serving dish, top with the beets, sprinkle the almonds and flaked salt on top and serve
Notes
See the links below for blog posts I published on September 18:
- 2022: The Ninth Month
- 2020: Chocolate Yoghurt Cake
- 2019: Dutchies
- 2017: Anchovy Paste
- 2016: The Thomas Berryman Number
- 2014: Oregano Oil
- 2013: Recipe Developing And Writing
- 2011: How To Sterilize Glass Jars And Bottles
- 2010: Dried Shrimp Relish
Today we are heading by train to Yerseke. I will probably not have time to read blog posts, or reply to comments while we are away. You can follow our trip by taking a look at our holiday blog. I will be back at work on the 3rd of October and will start catching up then.
This looks absolutely delicious Tandy. When I can find some fresh beetroot in the shops I’ll make this. Perfect with Summer around the corner.
let me know what you think about it once you make it 🙂
Looks like a very interesting recipe. My mother- in-law was very accustomed to using saffron in her recipes when she lived in Egypt. However, when she came to the US, she found the price of saffron was much higher and out of her budget. She improvised using turmeric for the color.Funny, I made and shared a salad this week also from Yotam.
I am going to see what you made from Yotam when I have the time!
Great recipe
Thanks!
This really sounds wonderful! Another Ottolenghi win.
Most of his recipes are 🙂
I love the sound of that saffron yoghurt! This looks wonderful.
thank you so much 🙂
so is this a new thing? growing saffron where you are? They grow it here in tasmania, along with opium poppies 🙂 Tinned beetroot has always been popular here, as an Aussie hamburger has to have it along with pineapple! I like to buy vacuum-sealed, cooked baby beets, as you can just chuck ’em in a salad etc.
now, I need to go and find out why the Tassies are growing opium poppies!!
What a dreamy dish! I love Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes and I adore beets, so this is an easy win right here. I’d say it’s worth breaking out the saffron for!
It was so worth it!
I do eat beetroot slough I don’t buy it often. A lovely sounding recipe.
I usually only buy raw beetroot as Dave does not like anything other than roasted beets 🙂
This is great! I’m always on the lookout for new beetroot recipes, it is one of the healthiest.
Amalia
xo
Hope you enjoy this version Amalia 🙂