Beetroot, chocolate and blueberry loaf with zesty, vanilla ricotta icing

I have a thing for beetroot but unfortunately my husband doesn't. I like to use it many different ways just to see if I can convince him. I have grated it through salads, roasted with some of his faves (think sweet potato and zucchini) and blended it with Greek yoghurt to make a dip. After all that, he STILL doesn't like beetroot....SO, I thought I would make him a cake. Everyone likes cake right?

There are many recipes around for beetroot cake but this is my interpretation. Do you think my husband liked it? 

NOPE....he didn't. But I hope your family likes it just as much as I did.

This recipe is gluten free for those requiring a gluten free diet and packs in the goodness through the beets, blueberries and ricotta.

Ingredients - Serves  12

2 Large beetroots, grated raw with skin

3 Eggs

 1 Teaspoon vanilla essence or vanilla bean paste

 ¼ Teaspoon of salt

 1 ½ Cups ground almond meal

¼ Cup of cocoa powder

¼ Cup olive oil

¼ Cup honey

1 Cup fresh or frozen blueberries (or substitute for raspberries)

1 Teaspoon baking powder

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees fan forced.

Combine raw beetroot, eggs, vanilla, ground almonds, cocoa powder, honey, oil and baking powder into a large bowl.

Fold through ¾ cup of the blueberries.

Spoon mixture into a paper lined loaf tin.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until cooked through.

Remove from the oven and cool for approximately 15-20 minutes in the tin then transfer to a cooling rack until completely cool.

Zesty ricotta icing

Ingredients

250g Low fat ricotta

2 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract/essence

Zest of a lemon

Lemon juice from ¼ of a lemon – or to taste

Method

While the loaf is cooling, combine the ricotta, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla and spread over the loaf.

Top with remaining berries and some lemon zest if desired.

Leftover Roasted Veggie Slice

Starting the week with some roasted veggies always sets us up for a week of nourishing eats. If you plan to cook your traditional Sunday roast or enjoy roasted veggies with a lovely lean protein source, why not cook extra for the week ahead?

Left over roasted vegetables can be very versatile.

Toss them with some fresh herbs, lemon, olive oil, legumes or grains for a lunchtime salad, add them to a toasted sandwich with a scrape of pesto and a crumble of feta, mix with eggs for an omelette or frittata, or in this case, make a lovely, tasty veggie slice.

This veggie slice is so simple and quick to prepare and  can be enjoyed as a snack or as a light meal with some salad or extra vegetables.

How to roast the veggies

My favourite vegetables to roast are pumpkin, red capsicum, eggplant, zucchini, red onion and squash. When roasting these vegetables I usually preheat the oven to 200 degrees, cut up the pumpkin, red capsicum (nice and chunky) and eggplant (cubed) and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary (depending on what I am preparing).

After about 20 minutes of these vegetables in the oven I add the zucchini, squash and red onion (drizzle some extra olive oil if required) and roast for another 20 minutes or until cooked through. If the vegetables are packed in tightly they can end up soft and a little soggy. For this veggie slice that really doesn’t matter.

 How to make the veggie slice

This recipe makes 4 light meal servings of slice, however you can cut it up in smaller pieces for a lovely nourishing snack.

Ingredients

3 cups of already roasted vegetables – for example pumpkin, zucchini, eggplant, squash and red capsicum (however use what ever your palates desire or what ever is leftover)

½ cup of pitted kalamata olives if desired (to add a salty flavour)

½ cup of wholemeal self-raising flour

4 eggs

¼ cup of fresh herbs such as parsley (if you haven’t roasted the vegetables with rosemary)

¼ cup of grated cheddar cheese

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

2. Place roasted veggies and herbs in a large bowl.

3. Toss flour through vegetables.

4. Whisk eggs in a separate bowl then add to the vegetables and flour.

5. Mix all ingredients together and season with pepper.

6. Line a shallow baking dish with baking paper.

7. Pour the ingredients evenly into the baking dish.

8. Bake in the oven for approximately 30 minutes or until set.

9. Cut into 4 light meal serve sizes or smaller snack sizes

Bon Appetit