Here is an easy spread recipe that will add bright colours to your table! It’s effortless, and the only thing that takes a little bit of time is the roasting of beetroots and garlic.

I’ve been away from the blog for a while except for one post about my latest podcast episode. Because the last two months have been busy and stressful. I actually prepared this recipe long ago, but I didn’t have time or the energy to write a post about it.

When the pandemic-related restrictions in Helsinki were fully lifted, the events and orders started flowing my way. In the middle of being extremely busy, suddenly, after almost 2 years, I was also finally contacted by Finnish Immigration Service about my permanent residence permit application. It was stressful as I had to prepare updated documents (since my application was in January). I also had to add some new documents. But, after a few weeks more of waiting for the result, with a little bit of emailing back and forth as well, I finally received my permanent residence permit on the grounds of self-employment. Yay!

However, as you can imagine, the stress of the work and the application took their toll on my mental state, and I started crying frequently and feeling depressed. I am now recovering from all this as I gave myself a few weeks of well-earned and long-awaited holiday.

Anyway, back to the recipe. It is pretty straightforward. As I wrote above, you only need to roast the beetroot and garlic for about 35-40 minutes and then put everything in a food processor. Seriously, it can’t get easier than that. After that, decorate it in any way you like. I happened to find some beautiful edible flowers on the weekend that I prepared the recipe, so I used them. Enjoy your new recipe!
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Ingredients:

Difficulty: Easy
(serves 4-6)

Printable PDF-recipe (no photos)

3 beetroots, about 420 gr before peeling (320 gr after peeling), diced
2 large garlic cloves
1+1 tbsp olive oil
75 gr lightly toasted walnuts
150 gr feta crumbled, plus more to decorate if you like
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tsp toasted cumin seeds
1/2 tsp toasted fennel seeds
salt to taste

to decorate (optional):
edible flowers
feta slices
drizzle of olive oil
seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Put baking paper on an oven tray.
2. Put diced beetroot and garlic cloves on the tray. Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil and give it a good mix. Put in the medium part of the oven and roast for about 35-40 minutes until beetroots are very tender. Take out of the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes.

3. Put roasted beetroot and garlic and all the rest of the ingredients except for salt in a food processor and make a nice smooth paste.

4. Scrape the sides of the processor and taste the spread. If you need to, add some salt. I highly recommend adding salt at the last moment if needed because sometimes feta can be very salty. When you have the spread ready, transfer it to a serving bowl and decorate with whatever you like. Enjoy with fresh, crusty bread!