As I unpacked my latest haul from my CSA box and noted the abundance of root vegetables, I realized I finally had the opportunity to make a recipe that has been sitting in the back of my mind for a while – Chorizo-Style Beets from Rick Martinez that was published in Bon Appetit.  We have been making a lot of taco bowls here in quarantine, and I figured this would be a fun way to incorporate all of our root veggies as a fun topper for our bowls! 

My take on Rick’s recipe relies on the same flavors that he used, but I more than doubled the recipe and used up most of my root veggie haul (beets, turnips, and carrots).  Rick’s original recipe calls for only two large beets, so I really scaled up.  This worked super well as a meal prep item, and it kept well in the fridge for a few days until our next taco night.  The flavors here are mildly earthy, smokey, and lightly spicy, making it the perfect winter topping for tacos or bowls when there are less tomatoes and fresh salsa on hand.  Think of this as a warm, earthy salsa, or as a full meat replacer to serve along with rice and beans.  This recipe packs a ton of flavor into the meal, and I highly recommend making this for your next taco night!

Recipe down below, photo up top!  I’ll link Rick’s original recipe here if you would like to make his whole recipe for Beet Tostadas, which are vegetarian and look totally awesome!  I extracted the beet chorizo portion of the recipe and customized it to add more root veggies, but the original idea came from Rick!

Chorizo Style Root Veggies

Ingredients:

• 4-6 turnips, chopped
• 2-4 carrots (large), or 6-10 carrots (small/baby), chopped
• 4-6 beets, chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tbsp ancho (or any) chile powder
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp salt

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Remove all root vegetables from their stems, and thoroughly wash the root vegetables to remove any remaining dirt or sand.
3. Chop the root vegetables into a fine dice, adding the chopped vegetables to a large bowl as you go.
4. Once all of the veggies have been chopped, add the olive oil, chile powder, oregano, paprika, cumin, black pepper, and salt to the bowl.  Mix to thoroughly coat all of the veggies in the oil and spices.
5. Pour the veggies out onto a foil-lined baking tray, and spread the veggies out into a single layer on the tray.  Bake in the oven for 45 minutes until veggies are fully tender and lightly browned, and the spices are fragrant.
6. Remove from the oven and serve along with your favorite taco fillings!