Red Beet Chorizo

How do you spell belicious? B-E-E-T-S, and they can’t be beat! Besides their color being visually-stunning, beets make for a deliciously-earthy treat, packing tons of nutrition with few calories to boot. They are extremely versatile, and you can enjoy them raw, baked, or roasted. Slice them into paper thin rounds for raw ravioli, grate them with an apple for an easy relish, or even make a red velvet beet cake!

Today, however, we are exploring even more obscure beet territory; we are making a delicious beet chorizo, aka chorbeetzo. Whether you love or hate the name, you’re guaranteed to love it in tacos or in a tofu scramble. It’ll soon be on be-peat in your recipe rotation. No more puns, I’m beet.

Red Beet Chorizo

Preheat the oven to 400˚

Cook the rice – wash the rice in a colander until the water runs clear. Combine with the water in a small lidded saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 25-30 minutes until the water has evaporated and the rice is tender.

Make the chorizo – Place the beets, shallot and garlic in a food processor and pulse until the pieces are coarsly chopped. Add the drained black beans and cooked rice and pulse until the mixture has mostly rice shaped pieces.

Scrape the mixture into a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the oil. Mix with your hands until well combined.

Spread the mixture in one layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. Removed from the oven and break into smaller pieces.

In a large non-stick skillet, add the oil and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the beet mixture and cook until the mixture becomes very brown and fragrant, 30-40 minutes, using a spatula to break down the mixture into crumbles.

Serve as you would chorizo, in a tofu scramble or use in tacos.

makes about 1 lb

BEET CHORIZO

  • ¼ cup uncooked red rice
  • ¾ cup of water
  • 1 cup of peeled and chopped beets
  • 1 shallot, peeled and quartered
  • 2 large cloves of garlic, peeled
  • a 15oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 tbsp ground golden flax seeds
  • 1/2 cup Panko
  • 1 tbsp chorizo seasoning
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp pink sea salt
  • ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tbsp canola oil, for pan frying