Beets are a unique source of phytonutrients called betalains. Beets are in fact a prehistoric food, you could even go so far as to call them ancient. They grew naturally along coastlines in Europe, North Africa, and Asia. Originally, it was the beet greens that were consumed instead of the sweet red beet root that most people think of as a “beet” in modern society. We can thank the Romans for taking the bold step of consuming the root itself.
Beet juice is known for having some impressive health benefits that include lowering your blood pressure, boosting stamina, fighting inflammation, and providing detoxification support. They are also rich in valuable nutrients and fiber. They are high in vitamin C, vitamin B, and also contain manganese. Manganese is good for your liver, bones, kidneys and even your pancreas.
Now that we’ve convinced you beets are awesome let’s get to the recipe. Start by cutting up some Roma tomatoes as seen in the video, you are basically just going to cut thicker style tomato rings. Put those on a baking sheet, dress them with Canola oil, some brown sugar and a little bit of salt. Throw them in oven and let them bake while you start the process of cooking your beets.
In a medium sized sauce pot boil your whole beets for about 20 minutes, or until they are tender. You want them to be tender so they are not not only easy to peel but easy to blend as well. After boiling them peel them and then cut them into quarters. Add your quarters to a food processor. Net you will chop some fresh garlic and add that in as well as some tahini and the juice from half a lemon. Finish off your mixture with a squirt of canola oil and blend all your ingredients together. After your initial blend add a bit of salt and blend again then put your beet blend into a bowl.
Now chop up a fair amount of curly parsley and half of a red onion and add them both to a medium sized mixing bowl. Dash that with salt and lemon juice then toss it all together well. This is the topping that will go over the top of your toast. This topping will create a crunchy, refreshing flavor that will offset the soft consistency of the beets.
Your next step will be to cut a loaf of sourdough bread into half inch slices. Grill those in a flat frying pan lightly greased with canola oil until you reach your desired level of browning. Canola oil is especially good for this type of cooking due to it’s high smoke point. Top your toasted bread with the beets, followed by the oven roasted tomatoes, and then add a layer of your onion and parsley slaw to the top. The last ingredient in this recipe is a fried egg. Any of you who have watched Matt’s videos in the past know that he is partial to fried eggs and doesn’t shy away from topping nearly any dish he makes with one, in some cases even two, fried eggs. It’s all part of the brunch experience.
If you decide to go with the egg be sure to add it prior to topping your brunch creation with the onion and parsley slaw. After putting all of your ingredients together grate a small amount of lemon peel over the top for a touch of extra zest.
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