ellaquiencome.com

Blog

  • A Home Cook Gift Guide: Kitchen Tools, Ingredients & Resources They Will Actually Use [2025 Update]

    This post is for the home cook in your life. The ones who you never know what to gift them. And no, there will be no bulky pasta markers here.

    When you’re a home cook, family members usually gravitate to give gifts related to food. Sure, they most likely don’t know anything else about you and a lot of us home cooks make this hobby our entire personality online.

    [2025 Update] For the record, these are all items I personally use and find useful and practical, not another reason for you to buy more things you might not need!

    “Who, Fulana? Yeah, they’re really into food.”
    Credit: New Yorker.

    When you’re a home cook, sometimes you’re doomed to random gifts that are downright useless. For example, pasta makers! I used mine that was a gift from my inlaws once 5 years ago. Beer kits “I saw you ferment something once!” I could go on.

    I don’t like clutter. And I don’t like having things I don’t use in my house, especially in my kitchen. Thinking about this I decided to make a gift guide of useful things for the home cook in your life. Whether they’re a home cook who’s been into it and deep into youtube or someone who’s interested in learning about cooking and techniques. There’s a little something for everyone!

    Kitchen tools, ingredients, & resources home cooks will actually use—a gift guide!

    1. Joy Chen Kitchen Scissors

    In my household there’s a lot of confusion on what a “pair of kitchen scissors” is. I think it’s because my husband is an engineer and doesn’t really care to discern, which is fine. That’s why I made a point to get these bright red kitchen scissors that actually work and don’t dull out. The official pair of kitchen scissors.

    I use them to trim herbs, flowers, spatchcock poultry, cut up meat, cut pizza slices, or cut twine. You can buy it using my affiliate amazon link.

    joy chen red kitchen scissors

    2. High grade matcha

    I will go out on a limb and 100% guarantee you that someone in your life is going to cut down their coffee intake and pivot to matcha—if they haven’t already. Chances are you already know someone like this. Or maybe “tHeY dOn’T lIkE cOfFeE” and are more inclined to tea. So why not give them nice matcha? Rather than bitter green powder that alleges to be matcha.

    My picks:

    3. A set of pots that isn’t pathetic

    No shade to the inexpensive pot section of Ikea. We’ve all been there. If you’ve started or are going to take cooking seriously getting a set of pots that are good quality and that’s aren’t going to fall apart in 1-2 years is paramount. Why? Girl. You really want to have to change pots every year? Kitchenware should last you a lifetime. Seriously, not 1-2 years. By the way, take care of them!

    My pot picks:

    • Le Creuset: The lifetime warranty makes the price bearable, in my opinion— Budget wise it’s at the higher end—5-Piece set retails at $525
    • Hestan: Fantastic staineless steel brand—10-Piece set retails at $639.96
    • Circulon: Great nonstick with grippy handles—10-Piece set retails at $200
    • All-clad Stainless steel: Large average and definitely on the pricier side, maybe add this one to your wedding registry.

    4. Garlic press

    Mincing garlic is a fool’s errand. Whenever someone asks me “oh what can I help you with?” in the kitchen, I usually ask them to chop or peel garlic. This little tool will save you the nightmare that is mincing garlic. And your fingers won’t smell as much.

    This garlic press goes for $11.95. They also have other fun colors like rose or gold if the person you’re gifting is into that…

    5. A spice grinder

    Once I thought it would be “more practical and effective” to grind coffee in my spice grinder. I thought I could “rinse it and use it for whatever”. Big mistake. Turns out the ground cumin seed was so strong it infused the coffee rendering it undrinkable.

    A dedicated spice grinder that you only use for grinding spices can be very useful if you’re making food with seasoning. And I hope you are.

    I use the Wirsh grinder because it’s like a little pod. It’s easy to store and quick to clean. It goes for $21.

    6. A scale that’s sensible but not dramatic

    If you’re a home cook and don’t own a scale, you probably don’t bake enough. And that’s fine. When you do start baking you’re gonna need a good scale because, when it comes to baking, the metric system is exact and less volatile than the imperial and volume systems. In the context of baking, you want to be exact.

    What I mean by saying “a scale that’s sensible” I mean that you want something that won’t be too sensitive to weight. When I say nothing too dramatic it’s because there are industries who take measurements much more seriously, like the pharmaceutical industry, for example, imagine going a gram over on medication or going off the measurements while making weed butter.

    This is the one I use and it goes for $10.50, others that are a more sensitive:

    person weighing food
    If you plan to get into sourdough…a good scale is important!

    7. Good paring knives

    If you’re gifting a home cook who is just starting to gather their bearings, 1-2 paring knives will be super helpful. They’re very useful and not intimidating. It’s a good way to cut their teeth. Here’s a little secret from someone who has been cooking consistently in many different contexts for over 15 years: you don’t need too many knives if you’re a home cook. You just nice a good large knife and a really nice pair of paring knives that work.

    Paring knives are great for peeling small ingredients like garlic ::internal screaming intensifies:: or shallots or peeling a Fuyu persimmon.

    I like the Henckles stainless steel pairing knife because:

    1. It has a really good grip
    2. It’s stainless steel. That’s enough for me!
    3. It’s $10

    8. Hand cream

    Bear with me. Home cooks always be cooking and we always be cleaning. When you’re in the kitchen you wash your hands between tasks. And if you don’t, you should. Especially if you’re dealing with seafood, meat, or poultry. Don’t get me started on garlic again and other alliums. Chances are is that you’re not using gloves (I rawdog my food) and you’re washing your precious porcelain hands with dish soap means you’ll have little sandpaper hands!

    The antidote to sandpaper hands? A good tube of hand cream. I keep a few laying around the house: In the kitchen junk drawer, by my desk because I spend a lot of time in my office, in my purse… Also, when you’re cooking and prepping food… Your hands are your most important tools and it’s important to take care of them.

    Hand creams that I love:

    9. A manicure & hand massage!

    See above point 8. Hand care is self-care! This is a really simple and straightforward gift. Get a certificate from a mani place or a groupon, whatever you want I don’t need to spell this one out for you 🙂

    10. Technique forward cookbooks

    I love recipe forward books because I can go back to those recipes and perfect them again and again. However, I think there is so much value in learning about techniques that you can apply to everything and anything. You can follow a recipe any day and anywhere. But once you nail down techniques the world is your oyster.

    Here are a few of my favorite technique forward cookbooks:

    • Start here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook by Sohla El-Waylly —This book is accessible to anyone and everyone, no matter where they are in their cooking journey. Sohla focuses sharply on technique, the why, and the science behind ingredient nomenclature and recipes. There are recipes that follow each technique breakdown that go from simple to hard. It’s a mammoth of a book and can definitely be a curriculum to focus on instead of going to cooking school for example. $40
    • Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat—This book taught me how to better understand what makes a balanced dish and what makes food taste good. It’s full of techniques that you can play with and recipes and manu ideas you can keep on coming back to. $17.
    • Ottolenghi Flavor: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenhi, Ixta Belfrage & Tara Wigley—This powerhouse is by far the most inspiring publishing conglomerate out there. There is not a book or instagram post I don’t inmediately fall in love with. This book really nails down techniques that are “not deemed for the home cook”. It explores techniques that are usually gatekept by restaurants and chefs but are so simple they are maddening, such as infusing ingredients in oil or charring vegetables for depth of flavor. $24
    • Where Cooking Begins: Uncomplicated Recipes to Make You a Great Cook by Carla Lalli Music. This book keeps it promise on being uncomplicated. What makes this book brilliant is how Carla hones in on simple every day techniques like steaming and searing and teaches you how to use them. She also creates a masterful shopping framework for those who need systems in place for their home. $16
    • Dessert Person: Recipes and Guidance for Baking with Confidence by Claire Saffitz. Believe the hype. I used to be a person who did not enjoy baking because it really put me in a vulnerable position of fucking up quantities. Claire managed to remove that boundary by making baking much more approachable. There’s also a lot of space to improvise and spin things and make it your own. $22.

    11. The Grand Microplane!

    I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the grand ole Microplane. It comes in handy when you need to zest a little lemon on your green beans or some fancy-looking parmesan over some jamón. $15. Microplanes dull and cannot be sharpened so this is definitely something you want to regift.

    There are many other things you can also gift the home cook in your life but I think this list of 11 (and then some) is quite solid. Happy gift giving!

    12. High Grade Spices

    Spices don’t go bad but their flavor turns flat and dull. This doesn’t mean you have to throw out your spices but you have to use more of them. With that, with the holidays coming up why not gift delicious spices so you can get invited to more meals? Here are a few that are properly sourced and of great quality.

    • Regalis Foods: From high-end Afghan Saffron to Red Sichuan pepper corns, to spice blends– Regalis Foods is the go to pantry when it comes to high-end ingredients and spices.
    • Diaspora Co: Chillies, masalas, roots & barks, salts & sugars… Diaspora Co has it all. Definitely one of my favorite online pantries as they are very transparent and properly sourced.
    • Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry: If you’re looking for soy sauces, soy pastes, sesame oils, chilli oils and more from small farmers, Yun Hai is for you. ffers a selection of premium ingredients for Taiwanese and Chinese cooking, they source directly from artisans, farms, and soy sauce breweries in Taiwan.

    13. A proper Espresso machine

    The feeling of pulling your own espresso shot is unbeatable. I have the Breville Espresso Machine and it’s the best investment I’ve done when it comes to my coffee pleasure. It retails for around $600. There is a ton of girlmath you can do to excuse the expense. Think about learning latte art and channel your artistic expression. Think of all the $9 lattes you won’t have to buy. Think of all the different types of coffee beans you’ll get to explore the taste of.

    14. The elusive airfyer (a mini convection oven)

    If you know someone who doesn’t have an airfyer yet… this is your chance to get them. Honestly, it’s such a practical thing to have. I airfry snacks like frozen pancakes or waffles for my kid every morning. I roast veggies in between meetings. I even bake muffins and small cakes in them. Even frozen pizzas. They’re truly practical and good to have at hand for different. Black+Decker has a $101 convection oven style that I would buy!

    15. Tweezers

    They are good for searing delicate pieces of protein. Reaching inside small condiment bottles. Plating pasta in a fancy way. And they give you a “Yes Chef!” feeling. And they cost between $5 and $9.

    16. The zippy chopper/hand powered food chopper

    I wrote a whole substack post about this being my favorite kitchen gadget here. It costs around $16 now (at the moment that I wrote that article it was $11.) I still think it’s a great purchase for many reasons!

    I will continue to update this annually as I see fit! That’s all for now and I hope you have a great 2025!

  • Almond Green Beans with Lemon Zest and Cotija Cheese

    This past Saturday I went to Houston’s Urban Harvest Farmer’s market. Something I haven’t done in a while and it was a real pleasure. Getting there early, grabbing a coffee at the first booth, and browsing all the fresh produce, and talking with the farmers about what’s good this week.

    Among the bounty I purchased was: green beans, fresh radishes, rainbow carrots, delicata squash, fresh herbs, and eggs.

    (more…)

  • The Crispiest Yucca Bites

    These are the crispiest yucca bites you’ll ever have! grew up eating yucca. They’re super common in the Dominican Republic. But nothing like this. It was always boiled to death and mush and overall… not good.

    As of lately,I’ve started craving yucca more cause I miss my homeland. So here are my crispy yucca bites. You can top them with whatever you like!

    I also made a video on Instagram of how I took every step.

    The Crispiest Yucca Bites

    (more…)

  • Hello world!

    Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!

  • I’m mostly on Substack now

    So if you’re looking for fresh posts go here.

  • Punched up beef stew: dried plums and apricots, and other spices

    A winter storm approaching Houston. I’ve survived my share of Houston related inclement weather, I only have climate change to thank for this additional life skill. Those were: a potentially catastrophic flood in 2019 (nearly drowned my car) and a snowfall in 2021 that froze the pipes, paralyzed the city and gave me really great memories with lifelong friends.

    A few lessons I’ve learned along the way? Never underestimate the unpredictability of weather, and always prepare for the worst. That way, everything else feels like a best-case scenario. Best case scenario I work from home on Tuesday while my kid plays in the background. Worst case? We lose electricity for days and have to enable a generator in frigid weather, with a house optimized for cooling (we live in Texas!!!)

    Another thing I’ve learned along the way, is the importance of hearty hot nourishing food. I remember in 2021, lockdown rules were in place but everything is a blur now and we woke up to snow. We didn’t prepare, lost electricity in our apartment complex, and had to go gather water in a bucket from the pool to flush out toilet. We met up with our friends who were our neighbors too and I made a pot of chilli in the community grill and ate our of red solo cups.

    Naturally, with my priorities focus on my family life, I made a big pot of beef strew with tons of hidden veggies. Radishes instead of potatoes, boil the potatoes on the side and add them in later. Carrots, leeks, celery, and onions. Dried apricots and dried plums for sweetness. A bundle of warm herbs and spiced. Red wine.

    Find more soup and stew recipes here.

    Recipe

    • 2-4 pounds of cubed beef, I used chuck
    • salt and pepper, abundant
    • 2 tablespoons avocado oil
    • 1 cup of sweet yellow onion, roughly chopped
    • 1 cup of chopped carrots
    • 1/2 cup chopped celery
    • 1/2 cup thickly sliced daikon
    • 1 pound of potatoes
    • 3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
    • 1 tablespoon grated ginger
    • 2 cups red wine
    • 6-8 dried plums (prunes)
    • 6-8 dried apricots
    • 1/2 cup loosely packed chopped parsley
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 3 cinnamon stick
    • 1clove
    • 3 star anise
    • orange peel: 2-3 strips
    • 4 cups of chicken stock or bone broth

    Method:

    Before you even start preparing anything else: start by salting the meat with kosher salt and let tenderize in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Preheat your oven at 350F/ 176C. Then in a cast iron pot, add the avocado oil and once it’s sizzling, brown the meat. You’ll know it’s time to flip the meat when the middle/top of the meat is doming and had little red left.

    Remove the beef and place it on a plate. Add your veggies: onions, leeks, carrots, and ginger.

    Ad some salt and sweat the veggies for 10-15 minutes. Followed by the star anise and clove.

    Deglase with the wine and let everything simmer for 3-5 minutes. Once simmering, add the meat back into the mix. Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Top with radishes, add the dried plums prunes and dried apricots and the bundle of spices (cinnamon, bay leaf, parsley, and orange peel).

    Let simmer and cover. Pop it in the oven for an uninterrupted hour. Once an hour has elapsed, take it out, mix, check for salt and add salt and pepper to taste. Pop it back into the oven for another hour while checking at the 30 minute mark. You’ll know it’s done when the sauce is thick and the meat if falling apart. Serve with boiled potatoes or rice, and top with parsley.

  • Onion Dolmas

    I love love love Dolmas. There is nothing more satisfying to me than popping a little treat in my mouth. I love the canned dolmas from the supermarket. I love the fresh dolmas from my local Lebanese spot. I never dared to make them. There is something incredibly daunting about boiling fresh grape leaves or washing preserved grape leaves and stuffing them. I can’t really explain it. So when I saw a TikTok of someone making onion dolmas and saw how simple it was, I jumped right in. Within 5 minutes of considering “do I actually have time for this?” I was boiling onions to stuff them.

    (more…)

  • What My Toddler Eats at Daycare

    I understand that I have a food obsession and that this isn’t what normal looks like for a lot of people who make food for their kid. I love cooking and having a small child who enjoys my cooking to some extent is a true joy. Albeit he doesn’t eat everything I send him to daycare with, most days he does. And there is something that feels good in my conscience about feeding him whole foods.

    What I always make sure to include in his menu:

    Smoothie containing:

    • At least 5% fat yogurt (whole fat greek yogurt works, I use the 5% Fage brand)
    • Fruits (usually from frozen) such as mango, bananas, peaches, whatever is in season)
    • Some type of enricher such as: hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, or any other seeds because our daycare is nut free, wheat germ (I want to make sure he doesn’t grow up with a gluten allergy so early exposure is helpful)
    • Ginger: daycare is a breeding ground for viral infections. whatever. I try to always give him ginger cause it helps.

    Died fruit

    • Texture exposure is important as much as flavor! That’s It fruit bars are great.

    Main meal: Enriched Carbs with Protein and Tons of Veggies

    These meals usually look like enriched fried rice or enriched pasta 99.9% of the time.

    For the carbs:

    • Enriched pasta has more fiber and protein and is overall healthier for growing kids.
    • You can find the “enriched” versions of pasta in the pasta aisle of your local supermarket. I often get the chickpea, or the red or yellow lentil version.
    • Enriched rice: there is a multigrain rice mix I add to white rice. I do a 1:1 cup ration or white rice and multigrain rice mix because it gives my kid more exposure to different grains and overall more nutrition!

    Protein options:

    • Beans: navy, lima beans, butter beans, black beans, edamame, lentils.
    • Meat: chicken chunks, minced beef, minced lamb
    • Fish: cut up shrimp, canned tuna, smoked salmon, or canned salmon

    Flavoring is paramount, kids don’t like bland food!

    • Coconut aminos or low sodium soy sauce (about a tablespoon)
    • Sesame oil (we are working on sesame exposure here)
    • Black pepper.

    Tons of Veggies:

    I have a nifty hand pulled food processor that I use to shred veggies and I always add it my kid’s foods. I always make sure to keep at least 1/4 of a pint at ready.

    Snacks

    • Fruit in Season: right now melon is incredibly sweet and delicious. Always get fruit in season because it’ll be sweeter and crisper.
    • Annie’s Organic Crackers: it’s like cheeseitz but for kids and my kid loves it
    • Once Upon a Farm: wheel barrel cookies are super healthy and honestly I like this brand because it has the least controversy surrounding cross contamination and inclusion of heavy metals. Reader, I’m just a girl and I can’t really keep up lol.
    • Veggie Nuggets: I’m always trying to find ways to get my kid to eat more veggies. Dr. Praeger’s has delicious dinosaur veggie nuggets that are broccoli, cauliflower based that are not full of fillers or weird emulsifiers or gums.
    • Organic pancakes and seed butter: carbs and fat, what more can I say? I’m not making pancakes from scratch, trying to semi home make as much as I can.
    • Applesauce + veggies: pouches are great fillers for odd hour hunger pangs. Always keep them at hand!

  • A Big Pot of Lemon Guajillo Beans and Beany Spaghetti-os

    I’ve loved beans all of my life. I remember as a small girl in the Dominican Republic, I’d ask my mother to serve them in a small bowl for me. Instead of pouring them over white rice which is la costumbre. I remember enjoying the beans and the broth. Dipping my tostones (I used to call them fritos because saying tostones made me giggle, the double entendre was too much for my young self.) in the broth for them to soak up and become nice and mushy. I grew up eating beans and I will always love beans.

    I’ve written many bean forward recipes on this very blog. Almond Green Beans with Lemon Zest and Cotija Cheese. Lemon-Lime Guajillo Pepper Marinated Beans. White Bean Crostini with Mint-Cilantro Vinaigrette. You can see more bean recipes here.

    Today I am bringing you another bean recipe. Lemon Guajillo Lima Beans.

    • 1 lb Lima beans (soaked overnight)
    • 1 lemon, sliced
    • 1 large onion, cut in half
    • 1 large dried Guajillo chile
    • 2 dried chiles de árbol
    • 2 tablespoons of dried oregano
    • 1/2 cup olive oil 
    • 2 tablespoons of salt 
    • 4-5 large garlic cloves, smashed
    • 2.5 quarts of water

    Method

    In a large pot heat up the olive oil at medium heat. With a long pair of thongs place the lemon halves in the oli, along with the onion. Let them sear. After 5 minutes check the onion and ensure they are browning. Add the dried chiles and let them fry in the oil. Don’t let the chiles smoke. Add the oregano and flip the onion and lemon. Add the salt. After 2-3 minutes add the beans followed by the 2.5 quarts of water. Mix everything up gently, taste and adjust for salt. Once it comes to a boil reduce to a very low heat. Let the beans simmer at a low heat. Let the beans cook low and slow for about 2-3 hours. 

    I love making beans on a Sunday so I can eat them throughout the week.

    For example, today I boiled some ring pasta and just mixed them up with the brothy beans. I heated up the beans in a pan and tossed the pasta in when they still nededed like 5 minutes to go. The rings soaked up all the flavor of the broth and finished cooking while the beans were reheated to the core. They were glorious! I would have grated some cheese over it but I was soo ready to just dig in my beany spaghetti-os.

  • Tortilla de Calabacín (Summer Squash Frittata)

    I’ve watched my Spanish mother-in-law make this enough times that I think I hacked the method.

    I married into a Catalan family. Naturally, tortilla and pa amb tomàquet hold high regard in the culture echelon. I always thought I could make a decent tortilla until I tried my MIL’s tortilla. It’s always moist and kinda juicy. Perfectly balanced. Kinda caramelized and never burnt. I’ve tried to imitate it to no avail. However, I think I hacked the method for her tortilla de calabacín. The trick? Cook down the squash and onion in heaps of olive oil until it’s almost a slurp. I’ll show you.

    I cooked down the squash and onion until nearly caramelized for about 20 minutes at medium to low heat. Mixing throughout to ensure that it didn’t cook unevenly. Between caramelizing, I beat the daylights out of 7 eggs and released most of my stress. You have to beat the eggs really fucking hard, if you’re not hitting the bowl and making noise, you’re doing wrong.

    My toddler was hanging around so I just poured the eggs inside the mixture. Usually, you have to add the squash into the eggs but I was like whatever Imma do me.

    I mixed everything up and then covered the tortilla so it would steam and cook evenly.

    After it was mostly done, I flipped it and removed the heat. then served.

    This tortilla de calabacín is kinda excellent for breakfast. It has a ton of veggies and is high in protein. 🙂 I’m going to spend a lot of time in Spain this summer, so I am ready to show my MIL my skillz.

    Share

  • Tahini-Doenjang Pistachio Sauce—With Soba Noodles and Veggies

    It’s not always that a sauce is the star of a dish. I would say this one is! I started making this sauce and keeping some in the fridge to add to a quick and boring lunch when I’m busy with work. You can add it to any protein such as salmon or chicken. Thin it out with water and dress a sad salad or toss it with some noodles and top with an egg. It’s tangy, sharp, and versatile.

    Tahini-Doenjang Pistachio Sauce—With Soba Noodles and Veggies

    Ingredients

    • 1 tbsp of doenjang
    • 1/4 cup well stirred tahini paste
    • 1/4 lemon/lime juice
    • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 small clove of garlic, grated
    • 1-3 tbsps of hot water
    • kosher salt
    • 1/3 cup toasted pistachios
    • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

    Method

    In a medium bowl, mix together the doenjang and tahini. Add 1 tbsp of hot water and whisk vigorously until smooth. Add the garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice and whisk until combined. Add the rest of the water or more until you achieve your desired consistency. Taste and adjust for salt if necessary. This sauce is supposed to be tangy, savory and lipsmacky. Chop the pistachios and cilantro and mix into the sauce. I used it to drench some crispy tofu and served it with stewed veggies and chewy soba noodles topped with some cucumbers and scallions for a little freshness and bite.

    Full disclosure, this recipe is a riff off an original recipe called “Tahini Almond Sauce” which appears in “Start Here, Instructions For Becoming a Better Cook” by Sohla El-Waylly. Sohla’s recipe originally has miso and marcona almonds. Beyond this recipe, you should really buy the book, it has injected new life into my interest in food, which was dulled out after having my son 9 months ago.

  • Roasted Golden Beets Over Pesto

    When I was a kid, in my household we only ate beets in salads. Fresh salads, salads with pickled onions, pink potato salads… When I look back, I always remember the beets being boiled and only the root. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned that beets have a green top, like carrots!

    Of course, you might think, the full name of a beet is beetroot, so they are root vegetables. But it doesn’t stop there, other species or sub species that come from beets are Chard or Swisschard, You could use them to make pesto or to add to your salad. The greens can be a little bitter, but nothing olive oil, lime, and Parmesan can’t ease. Plus, it’s a great way to use the beetroot in its entirety, especially if you’re not purchasing a single boiled beet, like we did when I was a kid.

    Roasted Golden Beets Over Pesto with Pepitas

    Roasted Golden Beets Over Pesto with Pepitas

    Ingredients

    For the beets:

    • 2-3 golden beets (or classic red ones), with the green top separated
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon pepper
    • 2 tablespoons olive oil

    For the pesto

    • 1 cup of chopped beet greens
    • 1/2 cup fresh chopped basil
    • 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    • 1 clove of garlic
    • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
    • 1/4 cup olive oil
    • 1/3 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds) + more to top

    Method

    Preheat your oven at 400°F (204°C). Cut your beets into wedges and put them in a bowl. Mix together with the salt, pepper, and olive oil. Place them on top of a lined baking sheet and put them in the oven. Roast for 20-25 mins, flip over the beets and and roast for 15 minutes more. Until they look slightly crispy.

    While the beets are roasting, move on to the pesto. Place all of the pesto ingredients in a food processor and pulse until you have the desired consistency. Some people prefer it to be very smooth vs slightly chunky, follow your heart on this one.

    Once the beets are nice and roasted (you can test this with a fork to test the tenderness or desired crispyness) set them aside to cool a little. On a plate, smear the pesto and carefully place the beets on top. Garnish with the extra pepitas and enjoy!

    See other recipes for roasted veggies here.

    golden beets over pesto with pepitas