I am a beet lover but I was not into beets as a child. As soon as I had real roasted beets, and none of that Thanksgiving canned junk, I was converted. I think they taste like earthy corn but in a good way if that makes sense.
Almost everyone who eats beets enjoys them with goat cheese. I couldn’t tell you how many beet & goat cheese salads and dishes I have had in the past few years. I even made a dish not that long ago Beet Millet Salad with Goat Cheese that used that cliche combo.
This time around I decided to make some dips. A battle of beets & goat cheese if you will. One which is a blend of beets & goat cheese and one is a goat cheese dip for beet chips. Both are delicious. When summer comes around and you have a garden of beets, or they are just readily available, feel free to add these to your list to make.
Let’s begin with the roasted beet & goat cheese dip.
Roasted Beet *&* Goat Cheese Dip (serves 2 but can easily be doubled)
- 1 beet
- 2 oz goat cheese
- 1/2-1tsp olive oil
- 2-4 tsp lemon juice
- few dashes garlic salt, thyme, & oregano
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Chop off the ends of the beet & wrap in foil. Bake for 60min or until tender. Remove skins & let cool.
- Chop the beat in quarters & puree in a food processor.
- Add the rest of the ingredients & blend to desired consistency (I left mine a bit chunky).
- Enjoy with crackers, bread, or veggies.
The next beet & goat cheese combo is beet chips with a goat cheese dip. Be forewarned, I have not perfected the beet chip. You do really need a mandolin unless you have serious knife skills which I do not. I tried my best to cut them thinly & in a uniform fashion but ended up with some too thick and some in half moon type shapes. The ones that turned out are below. It might not be perfect but it was good enough & the dip will go great with regular potato chips, bread, or fresh veggies of your choice if you are not making beet chips.
Roasted Beet Chips *with* Goat Cheese Dip
- beets
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
- goat cheese
- sour cream
- milk
- balsamic vinegar
- garlic salt
- dill
Preheat oven to 375F. Slice the beets thinly. Coat lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet & place another baking sheet on top. Roast for 20 minutes. Remove top baking sheet and roast for 15-30 minutes longer until beets crisp up & edges curl.
Mix equal parts goat cheese & sour cream ( I used 1-2 tbsp of each). Add a splash of milk and balsamic vinegar to reach desired dip consistency. Add a pinch of garlic salt & as much dill as desired.
Serve chips with dip & watch them disappear.
Be liberal with the dip as it is delightful to your taste buds.
In terms of a winner, even though my chips did not turn out exactly perfect, the ones that did work were so tasty & the dip is now my new favorite go-to recipe that the beets *with* goat cheese dip is far superior.
