Weekly Recipe #75: Curried Beets and Carrots with Coconut Milk

By Jeanne Foels, Marketing & Outreach Coordinator

This week's recipe features one of the sweetest of all vegetables: the beet. In addition to being rich in natural sweetness, these deeply colored orbs are full of heart-healthy fiber, iron, potassium and folic acid. Plus, the pigment that gives them their color, betacyanin, is a powerful antioxidant. The pigment also has been used as a natural hair dye for centuries.

This recipe pairs roasted beets with chopped veggies and Indian spices for a healthy summer dish with lots of flavor.

Note: To roast the beets, trim off the top and bottom root and rub with oil. Wrap each beet in aluminum foil and place them on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until tender (about 45 minutes), when a fork pierces them easily. Let the bundles cool, unwrap them and slide the skins off.


Curried Beets and Carrots with Coconut Milk
Adapted from Edible Twin Cities
(Makes about 3 servings)

1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced
2 tbsp. curry paste
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup roasted red pepper, chopped
4 carrots, julienned
4-6 roasted beets, julienned (approximately 2 cups)
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup basil, chopped
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped

1. Saute onion in olive oil. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, without letting it brown.
2. Add curry paste and peppers and saute for several more minutes.
3. Add beets and carrots and saute until carrots are crisply tender.
4. Add coconut milk and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Garnish with basil and peanuts. Serve on rice or with naan.