This is another dish based on a recipe from ‘the food of morocco, a journey for food lovers’. (I love that book!)
We bought the most wonderful cumin when we were in Marrakesh. It was well-wrapped when we brought it home but the scent was everywhere.
Beetroot (or beets to the Yanks) are pre-cooked here. I have seen raw, whole beets at Gran Frais on occasion, but never at the regular supermarkets.
At the regular supermarkets one can buy them in one of two ways: cooked and packaged in 500gr (16oz) clear, sealed sacks or cooked, mounded in big bowls with a huge fork for one to select individual beets.
I buy them in the little sacks….. Very handy.
The salad goes together quickly (once the beets are cooked) but I like to marinate the shallots for a bit before serving. It makes them a bit more mellow. The recipe called for red onion rather than shallots…. My red onions are gone but I still have shallots.
Moroccan Beetroot and Cumin Salad
Total time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 8oz (240gr) cooked beetroot (beets) cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 2 tbs fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tbs Balsamic vinegar
- 3 tbs salad olive oil
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 2oz (60gr) feta, crumbled
Instructions:
- Whisk together the oil, vinegar and cumin.
- Add shallots, stir well and marinate for 10 minutes.
- Add beets, parsley and stir well.
- Add feta, stir gently and serve
I may have admitted that I am inordinately fascinated by ‘our’ lake.
When I talked to the farmer, right after the digging was finished, he said he hoped it would be full, and usable for watering his fields, in two years.
It’s a really big, really deep lake.
And it’s almost full.
We’ve had rather a lot of rain this winter….
But that alone wouldn’t have done it.
To the left of this field is another farm field with another, smaller lake. That lake has been around for awhile and the winter rains replenish it quickly. Then it overflows into the pasture that you can see on the left, just behind the row of trees.
The pasture turns into a swamp which means that it stays wet well into spring when the farmer wants to let his cows back into it.
So the two farmers got together, bought a bunch of really big hose and pipes and laid it between the two lakes. Now the overflow from the small lake goes into the big lake. The big lake is filling in record time and the pasture is dry.
I really need to get a life…..
In Australia I always found the tinned beetroot to be of a very high standard and used it a lot. Only fresh from the field beetroot here in Morocco.
Lovely salad Katie…I make an identical one but with fresh basil. We are still getting farm fresh beets in our neck of the woods. I prefer to roast my beets as it really brings out the sweetness – so tasty!
I was getting fresh beets up until a month ago. Not anymore. Too freezing cold now 🙁 I generally buy bushels of them and pickle them. That way, I can chop them, toss them with some cheese and a little olive oil and have a nice salad or I can put them on other salads and things. I’ll have to try your way.
I would be watching all the time to see what the lake was doing next. I’m not nosy though. Really, I’m not. 😉
Will make that salad. My Moroccan cumin is gone. What I bought doesn’t come close to being as good or fragrant. Costco sells organic cooked beets in clear pouches. So easy.
Why don’t you grow beets in your potager? Then you could have your beets and eat them too. Not to mention that the greens alone make it worth while.
Your beet recipe is very handy. I have a weakness for beet greens and keep buying beets just for the greens. From time to time, 50% of the household rants about all the beets lying around in the vegetable drawer. We always have cumin seeds on hand; now I can suggest your Morroccan beet salad. I think we’ll add goat’s cheese instead of feta though.
Kate, I’m actually very happy with the vacuum-packed I get – no muss, no fuss 😉
Ina, fresh would be nice – occasionally lol I make ‘quick’ pickles with the ones I get in summer – just for snacks.
Phoenicia, that cumin is wonderful – I’ve been parsing it out slowly lol Cooked beets = so easy….
Elizabeth, I already have more than I want to take care of – and I have it jammed to the gills in summer…. no room. Besides, our clay dirt is so hard, root vegetables just don’t do well. (onions sit on top)