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beet

Not your average, super quick beetroot and couscous Kisir

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Fluffy (not dry) couscous in a packed-with-flavor beetroot sauce, all tossed together with crunchy and fresh veggies and topped off with tangy, crumble feta cheese. Every bite is an explosion of flavours in your mouth, and every bite is pure enjoyment!

What is Kisir?

Kisir usually is a Turkish dish made from roasted red bell peppers and bulgur. The peppers are blended into a sauce and the bulgur is cooked with vegetable broth. The both then are tossed with different, chopped up vegetables and a marinade from lemon juice, pomegranate juice and olive oil.

What is special about this dish?

I am not even sure if I can call this Kisir because the only aspects we are keeping from Kisir is the sauce out of a roasted vegetable, that a grain is cooked in vegetable broth and that it both is mixed with chopped up vegetables.

Instead of bell peppers we are using beetroots. They are in season now, they are super nutritious, they are a flavour-bomb and they add a pretty colour :). Instead of bulgur we go for couscous because it is quicker and easier to make. And instead of only adding cucumber and tomatoes, we are upgrading our couscous and making it more international with spring onions, edamame beans and feta.

So, you can see it is pretty far from Kisir and at the same time really similar. And it needs to be said, it is at least as delicious, I promise!

Is this dish healthy?

Oh, yes! It is not only packed with flavour but also with many many nutrients. The star of the show, beetroot, is an extremely healthy, immune system boosting vegetable, with many many healthy benefits, If you are interested in it, you can check out my September Top 5 and learn more about it!

Besides the star, we also have many other small stars. Edamame, for example is not only super delicious, but also packed with protein and nutrients. Cucumber, vitamin loaded. Bell Pepper, fibre star. spring onions and the herbs also add another nutrient kick! So, there are many ingredients that will make you feel amazing!

And then we also have the couscous, which is a great source of carbohydrates, and when bought wholegrain also a great source of protein. The olive oil, which we are adding, also adds some healthy fats and the lemon some vitamin C!

How to make this dish?

Easiest thing ever. Because no-one wants to spend an hour cooking lunch when their tummy already is groaning. It essentially comes down to preparing the couscous, blending the beets with vegetable broth and oil, chopping the veggies and mixing everything! Yes, it is as easy as it sounds!

When and how to best have it?

It is great for a quick lunch, a leftover side for dinner but also as a delicious meal prep idea. You can store it very well in the fridge (the flavours will only get more intense) and have it the next day!

I love to serve it with some feta or goats cream cheese and some fresh herbs. If you are more on the meat side you could add some grilled chicken or if you are plant based, go ahead and add some chickpeas or vegan feta!

I hope you’ll enjoy this as much as we do and that it will be a healthy staple in you winter cuisine! Have a fun and delicious time cooking and enjoy!

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Not your average, super quick beetroot and couscous Kisir

a flavor packed, creamy (not dry) couscous in a beetroot sauce, tossed with fresh, crunchy veggies and topped with tangy feta. All ready in 15 minuntes!

Course Appetizer, dinner, Main Course, Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine turquish (inspired)
Prep Time 15 Minuten
Total Time 15 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 473 kcal

What you will need

  • 300 g couscous
  • 600 ml vegetable broth
  • 2 rather small beets
  • 1/2 cucumber
  • 100 g edamame beens (cooked)
  • 2 spring onions
  • 1 bell pepper
  • 150 g feta
  • 1 tbsp parsley
  • 1 tbsp mint
  • 2 tsp honey
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 lemon

How to

  1. Bring the vegetable broth to a boil. Take off the heat and add about 3 tbsp of it to a blender with the beets. Pour in the couscous to the rest and let it soak up the liquid and fluff.

  2. Chop up the cucumber and bell peppers into small (about 1cm sized) pieces. Finely slice the spring onions and chopp the herbs. Add them all to a large bowl. In a seperate bowl combine the olive oil, honey and lemon juice.

  3. When the couscous is done, add it to the bowl with the veggies, the beetroot sauce and olive oil mixture. Mix it through until the sauce has covered everything.

  4. Divide onto plates and crumble the feta on top. Serve with some fresh herbs and enjoy!

Love,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

Seed Coated Beetroot Balls

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Need some inspirational recipes for pink food? Then you have to try these sesame coated beetroot balls! Packed with so much flavor, a great texture, fluffy and soft, a beautiful pink color and coated in crispy seeds. Served in a bed of hummus and salad and topped of with some crumbled feta! Isn’t Fall a great season? With all the good seasonal food? At least I think so! 

Beetroots are such a healthy vegetable. They are packed with fiber and loaded with vitamin B9, which helps to form the DNA and RNA and helps the protein metabolism. Moreover they contain good amounts of manganese, potassium and Vitamin C. Also, they are great for vegetarians and vegans because of their high iron content. 

Beetroots are also proven to have numerous health benefits. When consumed they can control your blood flow levels, lower blood pressure, and increase your exercise performance! They help preventing cancer and are really low in calories. If all of this information hasn’t convinced you yet to try it than maybe look at that color! It’s so pink and pretty! 

The only reason why I did not cook with beets very often was because I did not know how to prepare them! I always thought of them being really difficult to prepare but actually they are really simple! You can either boil them, or steam them or bake them. I prefer baking the most because you can put it into the oven for about 50 minutes and don’t really have to leave an eye on it. It is so incredibly simple, I don’t know why I haven’t realized this earlier. Really missed out on something. 

After the little chunks have been baked, they just need to be combined in the food processor with a few other ingredients to get a doughy consistency. If you do not have a food processor you can just combine all the ingredients with a potato masher or a fork, simply bake the beets for a little bit longer! Form the balls, and roll them in the seed mixture. The seeds are really nutritious too and add an extra kick of protein to the balls, as well as some crunch. Think falafels but with beetroot and baked. 

If you feel like turning in the oven for just two servings isn’t worth it, than I have good news for you! Firstly, you can meal prep beets on the weekend so you have them in several dishes throughout the week, and secondly, you can make these balls in a big batch and freeze them (without baking). Whenever you need them, just take them out of the freezer and bake them in the oven and voila! 

I love to serve them on a bed of hummus because I am a hummus addict but if you prefer something else, Greek yoghurt for example would be really great too, or even some mashed avocado. On top some crumbled feta, it adds some freshness and I think the combo of beets and feta cheese is just bomb. Of course, if you prefer a vegan option, you can leave that out but if you are not vegan, I would definitely recommend to add it on top. 

Also, what I love to eat it with is some homemade focaccia. It basically is pizza, but only drizzled with some olive oil and fresh thyme. So good! If you don´t have the time or patience to make homemade focaccia, baguette, naan, or pita definitely works to. Or if you want to keep it low-carb, then leave the bread out!

I really enjoy making this recipe in fall because I believe that it is a healthy and funny way to switch up the game when preparing beetroots. It is not too hard but tastes amazing! I hope you like it and if you do so, I would really be thankful if you could leave a comment. Also be sure to tag me on Instagram with @uneptcuisiniere or #unepetitecuisiniere so I can see it! Happy fall, and I hope tht you will enjoy it!

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Seed Coated Beetroot Balls

A really delicious and nutritious way to add a twist onto your classic beet preperation.

Course brunch, lunch, Main Course
Prep Time 15 Minuten
Cook Time 1 Stunde 5 Minuten
Total Time 1 Stunde 20 Minuten
Servings 2 people
Calories 438 kcal

What you will need

  • 5 beets
  • 1 white onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 60 g Quinoa
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
  • 2 tsp herbs de provence (or any other herb-based seasoning
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp chia seeds
  • 3 tsp sesame seeds
  • 2 tsp bread crumbs
  • 1 tbsp olive
  • 3 tbsp hummus
  • 1 big handvull salad lambs lettuce or arugula or spinach works best
  • 40 g feta cheese
  • some more olive oil to drizzle on top
  • some focaccia or pita to serve

How to

That is how it works:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Peel the beets and cut them into 1cm sized chunks. Layer them out on the baking tray, generously salt, and let them bake in the oven for about 50-60 minutes. After that time peek in with a fork. The beets should still have a little grip, and should not be too soft becaus eotherwise the mixture will be too soggy later on. Meanwhile cook the Quinoa according to the package instructions!

  2. Once baked add them into a large food processor. Add the 2tbsp of breadcrumbs, the cornstarch, salt quinoa, and the herbs. Pulse until combined and a crumby texture is created.

  3. Take the mass and form small balls. If you have, take an ice cream scoop and evenly portion them out into about 6 even sized balls. In a small bowl mix the seeds and the breadcrumbs. Roll the formed balls in the mixture so they are covered. Place them on a baking tray and drizzle with the olive oil. If you have an oil spray, you can use this.

  4. Bake them in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until crispy. Spread the hummus onto two plates. Top with the salad. Add the beetroot balls on top and spinkle with the crumbled feta cheese. Drizzle some more olive oil and serve with some focaccia or bread. Enjoy!