Heritage Beetroot & Goats Cheese Bruschetta (GF)

Beetroot. What springs to mind when you hear that word? I’d wager it’s a round rooty vegetable with a deep purple colour – be it raw, sliced, diced or picked, the colour purple is often what we imagine. Now think bright gold, striped blushing pink and pearly whites. Think Sainsbury’s Heritage Beetroot.

I love beetroot. I never ate it growing up. I was never forced to eat the sharp pickled variety which seems to have put a lot of people off beetroot for life. I came to beetroot later, raw or roasted in salads and instantly loved its earthy flavour and finger staining purple colour. I’ve seen other colours and varieties of beetroot used on tv, but never actually seen any to buy or taste myself, so I was delighted to be offered the chance to sample some of Sainsbury’s new Heritage Beetroot bunch – complete with three stunning varieties of differently coloured beets.

They looked attractive even before I cut into them, but once sliced open they positively glowed with rich vibrant colours. I dithered over how to taste them and eventually decided to simply roast them and serve them on some toast (gluten free) with some goat’s cheese – bruschetta style.

As they roasted, the outer surface became slightly duller in colour, but once bitten into the full force of their colours were once again apparent. If anything I found this to be more exciting, as it was so attractive to take a bite and be rewarded by such a beautiful vibrant colour. If you want to keep the beetroots full colour for presentation too, then I would suggest roasting them whole before cutting into wedges.

I toasted some Genius fresh brown gluten free bread (I’m so impressed by this brand compared to others I’ve tried – it really is quite Genius!) and rubbed the toast with a cut clove of garlic before piling on the roasted beets and crumbling over some young soft goats cheese. The combination of the soft creamy cheese with the sweet earthy beetroots and nutty bread was delicious and made for a very tasty lunch.

The beetroots themselves had subtle differences in flavour. The golden variety was the sweetest and closest to the traditional purple kind, while I thought the white variety the most subtle. All of them had a great flavour and weren’t as earthy as traditional beetroot, so might appeal to normal beetroot haters. I was delighted to get the chance to taste them and I am so happy at the prospect of being able to have regular access to them. At only £2 a mixed bunch they are worth it to add a little sunshine to your meal.

Heritage Beetroot & Goats Cheese Bruschetta (GF)

Ingredients
1 bunch Sainsbury’s Taste The Difference Heritage Beetroot (4 beetroot)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried thyme
60g young soft goats cheese
1 clove garlic
4 slices gluten free bread (or normal)
Salt and pepper

Method
Preheat the oven to 190C. Top and tail the beetroot, wash them well in warm water and remove any wispy roots but leave the skin on (its so paper thin you can eat it after roasting)
Cut the beetroot in half and then slice each half into quarters. Arrange the beetroot on a foil lined tray, drizzle with the olive oil and scatter over the thyme.
Roast in the oven for 30 minutes until softened.
Once roasted, toast your bread of choice before rubbing gently with a cut clove of garlic. Crumble over the soft goats cheese and arrange a mixed assortment of roasted beetroot slices on top. Season with a little salt and pepper and enjoy.
Serves 2 as a light lunch or 4 as a starter.