Η συνταγή και στα ελληνικά στο τέλος της ανάρτησης!
From very early years ancient Greeks detected the benefits of certain vegetables and beets. They included them in their diet and in many cases even added to them divine dimensions. One of these was beetroot. People back then believed that Aphrodite the goddess of beauty and love owed much of her success to the consumption of beetroots. Ancient Greeks offered to god Apollo beetroots as a gesture of gratitude and loyalty. They used to cook its leaves with honey and wine and the bulbs were used as a medicine for headaches and toothaches. Nevertheless, it was Romans who first started cultivating this vegetable in a more systematic way.
Ancient Greeks also believed in its hematopoietic ability, something that today has been proved scientifically. In case of anemia, doctors suggest to drink beetroot juice. Beetroot is also a great detox for liver and helps this organ discard useless substances that accumulate in it.
Beets contain a coloring substance called beta-cyanine that protects human body from central nervous system diseases such as Alzheimer and dementia. The fibers they contain, help our intestine’s proper function and furthermore they can control high blood pressure and cholesterol. We can safely say that beetroot is like a rubber that erases all the bad consequences modern way of life causes to our bodies.
I was feeling really inspirational this past weekend and I thought of making something a bit different from the ordinary. Usually, what I do is, boil the beets and eat them with Greek yogurt and garlic. This time, I thought of pairing them with a cheese instead of yogurt. And what cheese would be more ideal than feta?
Feta cheese can be traced back to the Byzantine Empire with the name prósphatos which means recent in English. The name feta was taken later and comes from the Italian word “fetta” which means slice. It is not known whether this name refers to the fact that we cut the cheese in slices to eat it or the producers slice it to put it in barrels. Since 2002, feta has been a protected designation of origin product in the European Union. That means that only cheese that has been made from ship’s milk or a combination of ship’s and goat’s milk cheese can be called feta cheese.
After a bit of thinking, I decided that instead of boiling the beets I should try roasting them as I believe that the oven gives to vegetables a more profound flavor. Instead of using plain feta, I decided to thin it with heavy cream so that the taste would be milder. Also it helped me aromatize the cheese with scallion and several other greens that gave it a unique, delicious flavor. To counterbalance the acidity of the cheese, I went on and made a very simple sauce by diluting honey in water over very low heat merely to simmer. You can use this cheese, practically in all types of salad including Greek one. It goes with everything. The combination was a total success and we all loved it, especially my husband and I, since the little one is somewhat picky.
This is a delicious appetizer or salad and you can definitely use it to impress your guests or your family!
- 6 bulbs of beets
- 70 gr. / 2.5 oz. of feta cheese
- 200 ml / 7 fl oz. heavy cream
- 1 to 2 tbsp chopped scallion depending how intense you want it
- 2 tbsp parsley
- 6 leaves of fresh basil
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- Salt and pepper (be careful with the salt, start with just a pinch and if you see that it needs more, add pinch by pinch because feta is salty by its own)
- 90 gr. / 3 oz. honey
- 40 gr. / 1.5 oz. water
- You can make this appetizer even one day before and just assemble everything before serving.
- In your food processor add all the mousse ingredients and blend until a smooth batter is formed.
- You can either pour it in small molds or you can put it in a bowl and put it in the fridge.
- Take a parchment paper, put them in and seal it.
- Bake them in a preheated oven at 180°C / 350°F until when piercing with a fork is really easy.
- Remove, peel them and set aside.
- In a small pot add the honey and water and simmer until they are incorporated.
- Make sure that the temperature is no more than 40°C / 104°F otherwise the honey loses all its nutritional elements and becomes just a common sweetener.
- Cut the beets in slices, salt and pepper them.
- Take the cheese out of the fridge and if you have it in molds, unmold it, or if you have it in a bigger bowl take a spoon and form small balls.
- Serve everything in a platter and pour the honey sauce on top of the cheese and the beets.
- 6 βολβούς παντζαριού
- 70 γρ. τυρί φέτα
- 200 ml κρέμα γάλακτος light ή κανονική
- 1 έως 2 κ.σ. ψιλοκομμένο κρεμμυδάκι, ανάλογα με το πόσο έντονο το θέλετε
- 2 -3 κ.σ. μαϊντανό
- 6 φυλλαράκια φρέσκο βασιλικό
- ¼ κ.γ. σκόνη σκόρδου
- Αλάτι και πιπέρι (να είστε προσεκτικοί με το αλάτι, ξεκινήστε με μία πρέζα και αν δείτε ότι χρειάζεται να προσθέσετε περισσότερο βάλτε άλλη μία πρέζα, γιατί η φέτα είναι αλμυρή από μόνη της)
- 90 γρ. μέλι
- 40 γρ. νερό
- Μπορείτε να κάνετε αυτό το ορεκτικό ακόμη και μία ημέρα πριν και να το ολοκληρώσετε λίγη ώρα πριν το σερβίρισμα.
- Στο μπλέντερ σας προσθέστε όλα τα υλικά της μους και ανακατέψτε μέχρι να ομογενοποιηθούν και να δημιουργηθεί μία απαλή κρέμα.
- Μπορείτε να τη μοιράσετε είτε σε μικρά καλούπια ή μπορείτε να τη βάλετε σε ένα μπολ και στο ψυγείο.
- Πάρτε μια λαδόκολλα, βάλτε τα μέσα και σφραγίστε τη.
- Ψήστε σε προθερμασμένο φούρνο στους 180° C μέχρι να μαλακώσουν τόσο ώστε καρφώνοντας τα με ένα πιρούνι να είναι εύκολο.
- Βγάλτε τα από το φούρνο, ξεφλουδίστε τα και βάλτε τα στην άκρη.
- Σε μια μικρή κατσαρόλα προσθέστε το μέλι και το νερό και βάλτε τα σε πολύ χαμηλή φωτιά ίσα να ενσωματωθούν.
- Σιγουρευτείτε ότι η θερμοκρασία είναι όχι περισσότερο από 40° C αλλιώς το μέλι χάνει όλα τα θρεπτικά του στοιχεία και γίνεται μια κοινή γλυκαντική ουσία.
- Ολοκλήρωση
- Κόψτε τα παντζάρια σε φέτες και αλατοπιπερώστε.
- Βγάλτε το τυρί έξω από το ψυγείο και αν το έχετε σε καλούπια, ξεφορμάρετέ το, ή αν το έχετε σε ένα μεγαλύτερο μπολ με ένα κουτάλι σχηματίστε μικρές μπάλες.
- Τοποθετήστε τα όλα σε μία πιατέλα και ρίξτε από πάνω το μέλι.
