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Festive table
Nut and beetroot snack in Georgian

Georgian Beet and Walnut Spread

An intriguing appetizer with an amazing range of flavors. I once roasted a large beet in the oven planning to make a salad with garlic and mayonnaise, only to find there was no garlic in the kitchen — and it was already late in the evening. Making mayonnaise from scratch is no trouble, and sour cream stands in for it just fine, but no one has ever found a good substitute for garlic, so I had to dig through my memory for what else you can make with roasted beets. Nothing came to mind — but in the notes app on my phone I found a recipe for a Georgian beet-and-walnut spread that a friend had told me about, jotted down just in case and just as thoroughly forgotten. It's a good thing a phone's memory beats a human one in at least one respect: it never forgets what you've saved and can call it right back up, exactly as written. So I didn't have to go without an appetizer for dinner after all.

Arkady and Svetlana

Recipe author

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Walnuts

150

Beets

600

Garlic

Sugar

Sunflower oil

Vinegar

Salt

Cilantro (or parsley — for garnish)

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 13 % 4 g

Fats 44 % 14 g

Carbohydrates 44 % 14 g

188 kcal

GI: 8 / 0 / 92

Cooking method

Cooking time: 40 min

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I peeled and pressed the garlic, then ran the beets and walnuts through a meat grinder one after the other. Grinding the walnuts and garlic together with a tablespoon, I slowly drizzled in the sunflower oil. Then I mixed that paste with the beets, sugar, salt, and vinegar, and arranged the spread on plates.
Absolutely delicious! It was fantastic with carrot-and-potato patties. It's completely vegetarian and, best of all, wonderfully tasty and remarkably easy to make. This Georgian dish can be enjoyed any season and any time of day; it contains no animal products, which makes it a great choice for vegetarians and anyone observing a religious fast. To serve it on a festive table, garnish with a sprig of cilantro — or parsley, if you don't have cilantro, which makes a perfectly good stand-in.