Brown bag beets are a modern way to cook en papillote, re-using a paper bag that buy your veges in seems the perfect. Served kale and walnut pesto upon a crispy potato rosti and you have a sharing platter rustic lunch or individually portioned tasty brunch.
Each element can be prepared separately ahead of time or I would suggest preparing in this order:
- Wash measure and chop all ingredients
- Brown bag beets in oven
- Put potatoes on stove to boil
- Make pesto
- Make potato rosti
Brown bag roasted beets
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
- 500g beetroot peeled and wedged into bite size pieces
- 3-5 cloves garlic – crushed
- 1 lemon thinly sliced
- 2-3 sprigs of thyme
- olive oil
Method:
Oven 200ºC
Put all ingredients into a sturdy paper bag, shake to coat beetroot, roll top of bag and put in the middle of the oven to roast 40-50 minutes depending on the size of pieces.
Compost paper bag
Potato Rosti
Ingredients:
- 700-800g Agria potatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Sea salt and ground white pepper
Wash potatoes (peel if desired), cut in half if they are large.
Put potatoes to a pot of salted water, bring to the boil and simmer until the potatoes are half cooked.
Drain and grate into a bowl and season with sea salt and pepper, press potato together so it makes a large ball, wet hands help, the starches make it sticky
Heat olive oil in heavy-based 23cm frypan, use a spatula to press the potato down make a large rosti.
Cook for about 15 minutes or until base is golden, turn over to finish cooking, if preparing ahead take it off the stove (leave it in the pan and return to the oven for 15-20 minutes before serving.
More tasty toppings for a crispy potato rosti – Tofu Florentine , Scramble or Lentils & Mushrooms
Kale and Walnut Pesto
Ingredients:
- 60g/1/2 cup toasted walnuts
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- ½ tsp seasalt
- 150g/approx 2 cups kale stems removed
- zest and juice of a lemon
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup water
- sea salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Roughly chop kale then put in a bowl and cover with boiling water. After 1-2 minutes or when soft, drain.
Put kale and walnuts into a food processor and pulse until chopped, add remaining ingredients and blitz.
Season to taste, adding more of any ingredients to suit your palate.
This pesto is delicious with Zucchini Flowers.
Allergy friendly Option- replace walnuts with sunflower or pumpkin seeds for a nut free pesto.
