Baked beetroot and feta with orzo
By: Monika Dabrowski
Published: Wednesday, July 13, 2016 - 4:40am

Ingredients




4 medium beetroot bulbs
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
150 g feta cheese
1 cup rocket (arugula) leaves, roughly chopped
3 cups cooked orzo pasta (cook according to package instructions)-use about 1 cup raw orzo
6 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Preparation

1 Preheat the oven to 400 F/ 200 C/ gas mark 6.  Pour 2 tablespoons of oil into a large oven proof dish and set aside.  Peel the beetroot, slice it very thinly and place the slices in the oven dish.  Crumble the feta over the beetroot, combine the garlic with 2 tablespoons of oil and pour on top.  Bake for 20 minutes. 2 In the meantime boil the pasta, drain and combine with the rocket and the remaining oil.  Season well. Place a desired amount of the baked beetroot on top of the pasta, drizzle with a little more oil if you like and enjoy!  Serve hot or cold, as a main or side dish.  Makes 4 servings.

About

It’s important to slice the beetroot very thinly for this recipe.  This really doesn’t take very long and the slices don’t have to be identical (my advice is to wear rubber gloves though as the beetroot will stain).   Baking sliced beetroot is not only quicker than cooking whole beetroot it also minimises the loss of nutrients.