Raw Beet Pancakes

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A few days ago, as I herded together some of my recent raw meals, I mentioned that I’d made and immediately liked some raw beet “pancakes.” Immediately, you guys were asking for the recipe. Here, without further ado, it is.

First, let me just say why I love these guys. They’re less dense than raw burgers tend to be—even less dense than my carrot falafel—but more substantial than, say, juice pulp crackers. Which means they’re great for adding bulk to salads, and you can certainly eat them along with other things to give them more heft (I love spreading them with my raw, vegan goat cheese, as you’ll see below!). In theory, this is a dehydrator recipe, but you can easily make them in the oven at 200 degrees – I’m not sure how long they’d take, but I’d wager an hour on each side, or less if you heat it to 350. Experiment! And let me know.

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Raw Beet Pancakes (makes about 8)

2 very large beets, shredded and squeezed gently to release some of the moisture
1 large stalk celery, chopped finely
1/3 cup finely ground pistachios or almonds
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Water as needed
1/4 – 1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
Black pepper to taste
1 tsp onion powder or Herbamare (optional)
1 tsp ground celery seed
1 tbsp caraway seeds

1) Mix the shredded beets, celery, pistachios or almonds, flax, vinegar and mustard in a bowl, using your hands to mix them all well. Add water until the mix is moist and easy to handle, but not total mush.

2) Add all remaining ingredients. Adjust spices to suit your tastes.

3) Shape mix into “pancakes.” They’ll feel as though they’re falling apart. If this seems really likely, add a bit of water, or give them a moment for the flax seed to bind them. Otherwise, just work quickly to shape them into discs (about eight total) and lay them on a lined dehydrator sheet.

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4) Dehydrate for about four hours at 115 degrees. Flip, and dehydrate for another 4-5. They should be pretty crispy when you finish.

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Enjoy!

If you’re not into the vinegar or celery seed, go ahead and omit. But adding them reminded me of borscht. And I like being reminded of borscht. So far, my favorite way to enjoy these is, as I said, atop salad (no shock there), and topped with my raw, vegan goat cheese. Beets and goat cheese are one of those ubiquitously popular flavor combinations; this is my all raw, all vegan homage.

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Hope you give these guys a shot!

With that, I’m trying to call it a night. See, I have to be up very early tomorrow, to fly westward. Where, you ask? To L.A. for what promises to be a super special food blogging event! It’s the Dole Wellness Summit, held at the preposterously scenic Four Seasons Westlake Village, and I’m lucky enough to attend! To sum it up, Dole is giving me and a select group of fellow food and wellness bloggers a behind-the-scenes peek into its business. How does the world’s largest provider of fresh fruits and vegetables keep up with the latest nutritional research, and consumer tips? How does it handle the demands of an ever changing—and increasingly eco-and animal-conscious—market? I’ll be a happy witness to hands-on culinary competitions, a few meals, and I’ll even be getting personal spa and wellness treatments and consultations (for instance, I can’t wait to chat with you about my acupuncture appointment). I’ll also get to see some of Dole’s upcoming product releases, and demos from Dole Fresh Fruit, Dole Fresh Vegetables and Dole Packaged Foods.

Why am I so excited? Because typically, I talk about products and foods that lie pretty far from the norms of food production in this country. We raw foodists and vegans—or, let’s simply say we hyper-conscious eaters—often choose to separate ourselves from the corporate food world. There are reasons why this is important, but I also believe that massive change must often start from within large centers of power. So it always pleases me when I hear that companies like Dole are trying to stay on top of shifts in the foodie zeitgeist—especially green shifts. I’m eager to hear about what the company is up to, how they manage to preserve integrity while also catering to a huge consumer base, and to test out some of their new foods. It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten a vegetable or fruit that didn’t come in a CSA box or from a farmer’s market—or at least from the produce aisle—but if packaging fresh produce is what’ll help Americans to eat more of it, I’m certainly willing to try the goods along with them.

Most of all, I’m excited to see a certain good friend of mine.

Anne

Anne and I experienced what can only be the platonic version of love at first sight the first time we hung out in person (which was at the HLS this summer in Chicago). Maybe it’s because we’ve both spent a fair bit of time editing stuff, and we’re both sticklers for good writing. Maybe it’s because I love her positive and friendly blog voice. Maybe it’s because I admire her nutrition studies, or her commitment and speed as a runner. Or maybe it’s just because she’ll never stop teasing me about my photo booth shots at the Summit cocktail party. (Anne, for the last time: I was not inebriated. I just looked that way.)

Whatever the case, I heart this sassy lady, and I cannot wait to spend three days in her company. Anne, I’m guessing you have to wake up at 5 am, too. Godspeed to you, my friend.

On that note, I can’t wait to catch you guys tomorrow from Cali! Note to LA friends and readers: I’m only there for less than 72 hours, so I won’t have any time for blogger meet ups or restaurant dining in the city, alas. Next time.

Away I go…

xo

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Categories: Snacks, Vegan Basics
Ingredients: Beets
Dietary Preferences: Raw

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    29 Comments
  1. I love love love beets SO much! I love the way they smell, the way they taste, and the way they stain my fingers and counter tops a beautiful bright pink. I really am over the top how much I love them. I like to chop up boiled beets with a big dollop of mayonnaise, some white beans, and a pinch of sea salt and serve it on a bed of spinach leaves. Oh so perfect.

    But these little pancakes look amazing! I love how you pile them into your salads, I bet that is really delicious. Thanks for another great beet idea, the more beets the better!

    Have fun getting your inside look at Dole. All the fresh fruit they are going to have on hand for you all to munch, lucky you! If I was there, I’d be sure to ask some pointed questions about Dole’s complicity in child slavery and human rights abuses. But, then again, I really am a trouble maker. 😉

    http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2002/04/24/ecuador-widespread-labor-abuse-banana-plantations

  2. No time for restaurants? Bummer! LA has some of the best raw ones…oh but wait you are from NYC so it doesn’t matter as much.

    Have a good trip!

  3. The raw beet “pancakes” look amazing– if only I had a dehydrator, just another gadget that’s on my list to get 🙂 Just got a spiralizer so I’m excited to use that with future creations.
    Ah man, if you were in LA longer, I so would’ve wanted to do a blogger meet-up! I live in Santa Cruz, just 4 hours north of LA. Do let me know when you come back! 🙂
    By the way, I made your zucchini dressing- it was amazing, thanks for the inspiration!

  4. Luna-‘malibu love nest’ reminds me of everything california. have fun out there! these look amazing. i’m addicted to pickled things and vinegar so i will prob love these! i don’t have a dehydrator but it will just take a while for me to enjoy in the oven (hopefully i can wait haha)

  5. I totally agree that shift needs to start happening in the corporate food world–even if that means the health-world being less exclusive! cant wait to read all about it. (The burgers look great!)

  6. What a wonderful opportunity for you! I hope you’ll have a great time in LA. I’d love to learn how the mass-producers and transporters of fruit and veg actually process the food. Having lived in Hawaii for a couple of years and worked on small farms growing all kinds of fruit for local consumption, I’ve been fascinated by the process and a little concerned by how much is lost en route.

    I had some beet-based crackers at a raw vegan restaurant I tried in London a couple days ago: will review shortly, but I think they were a great combo. Have you tried beets crackers with caraway seeds for a real eastern european type flair?

    love
    Ela

  7. Obviously, your love of beets is apparent from many of your posts. And I have loved making some beet recipes (beet ravioli? Sign me up!) But I was wondering, do you have any tips on how to handle them so that the entire kitchen doesn’t look like Nightmare on Elm Street? Thanks!

  8. What a great opportunity. Food deserts are a real issue in our country. CSA’s and farmer’s markets are a luxury at this point for those of us lucky enough to live in an area where we have access to them. For those living in food deserts, packaged produce may be the only way they will be able to consume fruits and veggies. Don’t get me wrong, I love reading food blogs and seeing the photos of piles and piles of glorious produce, but I think it’s important to keep in mind that this is not feasible, not available for everyone. So excited to hear your report on how Dole is helping to address this issue!

    Enjoy your time in LA, although it doesn’t hold a candle to San Francisco 🙂

  9. That is such great news that Dole is opening up its business to you!! I had no idea they were making efforts in the health and wellness world… Very excited to hear what you have to say!

  10. When I first saw the post I didn’t think those would be too appetizing, but after seeing the finished product I’ve completely changed my mind! I do love beets

  11. I’m always looking for new ways to use beets! I feel like I roast them…and that’s about it. 🙂 These look delicious!

    Lol…I thought you were going to see the Magnetic Fields! But the Dole weekend sounds awesome too!

  12. I’m sorry you were so wasted in our photo booth photos. 😉

    Can’t WAIT to see you! Thanks for the sweet words in this post 🙂 Very eloquent description of the summit, btw! Editors 4 life.

    • Yep, I’m just a regular lush. A hot mess, if you will. Glad you were there to help me keep it together.

  13. While you’re out in LA you gotta check out a few raw restaurants not too far from westlake (since im from westlake too) and theres a great whole foods by there too 😉
    …julianos raw in santa monica, rawvolution, and sunpower cafe in studio city

  14. Let us know if you do a meet-up; I’m likely to be in LA this weekend visiting my fiancee! Sounds like a great opportunity for you and I look forward to your report back!

    • Alas, I have less than 72 hours, and no time for meetups! Really sad. Next time tho. Say hey to Rach for me 🙂

  15. The weather is gorgeous here right now in SoCal, you’re gonna love it. I wish I could meet up with you but I know you’ll be slammed! But it sure sounds like an awesome time! I know you will have a blast! I was supposed to go on a blogger trip to Northern Cal a month ago but due to a few things, I had to bow out but I hope you enjoy your trip! How fun!

    And the beet pancakes…I was just going thru some old recipe links of mine and came across some curly sweet potato fries that I made in the oven. I bet I could make beet fries in the oven. Or curly fries in my dehyd. And make little pancake mounds…how cute, and delish looking!

    HAVE FUN!!!!!!!

    🙂

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