As I stood in my kitchen the other day I surveyed the goodies I’d been collecting from various markets. The erubescent beets and the ambrosial mango winked at at each other from across the bench-top. I resisted at first. But I was in a mood.
I blame it on the purple carrots. I found some organic ones a few weeks back. I made pie with them. It was just a test, a quick experiment to see how it went. I’m in love. I’ve been on the hunt for more purple carrots ever since. I’ve just missed them at two different markets, I can’t find them at the grocery store I originally purchased them from. The other day when I was on a fig mission I came across one tiny bunch, it was a terrible tease, I didn’t get them.
But Purple Pie was firmly ensconced in my mind by that point so I had to find an alternative. Orange Pie is easy – Pumpkin of course. Yellow Pie is covered by Lemon, I certainly have ideas for Green and Blue but neither of those quite fit with the ‘Love at First Bite’ theme for February’s Sweet Adventures Blog Hop. Then it struck me… Pink Pie it would be!
However if you know me, then you know that something logical like strawberry, or raspberry is far too sane. Not to mention I had already made Cherry Tarts last week, and instead wanted a custard style pie. By this point you’ve seen the ingredient shots above and are either incredibly intrigued or have fled for the hills. Still here? Fabulous.
A sweet, spiced, Beetroot Pie. Who does that? I asked myself, ‘would anyone else even try to make it?‘. And then I remembered that this is my blog, and I can make whatever crazyness I want. Also, I can spell ‘crazyness’ with a ‘y’, instead of an ‘i’ like spell check says I should, because I like it better that way. Told you I was in a mood.
So I made Roasted Beetroot and Mango Pie. I added warm spices and topped it with Carmelized Figs and served it with a dollop of natural yogurt mixed with ashed goats cheese. I made a cinnamon swirl Whole Spelt Pie Crust because yes, I am that person. If you want to see the step-by-step how-to for the crust it’s here because yes, I am that person too.
When it was all said and done I didn’t mind the pie at all. I’m not sure if anyone will ever make it but I actually quite enjoyed it. I still want to make purple carrot pie though.
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Roasted Beetroot and Mango Pie
Ingredients:
1 1/2 c roasted beetroot puree
1 1/2 c mango puree
3 eggs – lightly beaten
1 c almond milk
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp sea salt
dash cardamom
1 quantity Whole Spelt Pie Crust
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 – 1 tsp cloves
5 – 6 fresh figs
1 – 2 tbsp coconut sugar
1/2 c natural greek yogurt
2 tbsp ashed goat cheese
Quick Method:
Wrap beetroot in foil, roast until soft, peel, puree and cool. Puree flesh of a mango. Mix all filling ingredients together.
Make pie crust dough. Roll out, sprinkle with spices, roll up. Refrigerate, slice and press into pie pan.
Pour filling into un-baked crust and bake at 180 C [350 F] for approx 50-60 minutes until just firm. Slice figs into quarters, sprinkle with sugar and grill [broil] for 3-5 mins until just golden. Gently fold yogurt and cheese together.
Place figs on pie. Serve with yogurt and extra figs. Serves 8 – 12.
Full Method:
Make the pie crust: Refrigerate a batch of Whole Spelt Pie Crust dough for 20 minutes to firm up slightly. Roll out on a piece of baking [parchment] paper into a rectangle-ish shape. Sprinkle with the spices and rub lightly with fingers to press into the dough. Roll tightly using the paper as a guide. Refrigerate roll for 30 minutes. Slice with a sharp non-serrated knife into 1/2 cm [1/4 inch] slices and lay in a single layer on the pie pan, forming as necessary to fit snugly. Press and smooth gently so there are no holes or gaps. You can see the how-to here. Refrigerate for 15 minutes before filling and baking.
Make the beetroot puree: Wash beetroot and trim stems, leaving a bit attached. Place in a roasting pan with a good splash of water, cover with foil and roast at 180 C [350 F] for 90 mins or so until very soft when pierced with a fork. Cool slightly and peel – once you trim the top and bottom with a knife the skin will just rub off – wear gloves unless you are going for the red fingernail look. Puree and cool to room temp.
Make the pie: Pre-heat oven to 180 C [350 F].
Puree the flesh of a large mango, mix with beetroot puree, spices and almond milk. Taste for seasoning. Whisk in eggs until well combined. Pour into the prepared, un-baked pie crust. Bake for approx 50-60 minutes until just firm, the centre will still be slightly wobbly. Remove from oven and cool completely on a rack. If you have extra filling pour into a small oven proof dish and bake with the pie.
Make the figs and yogurt: Slice figs into quarters, to make them look like hearts cut a small triangle out of the base end, creating the two rounds for the top of the heart. Sprinkle with the sugar and grill [broil] for 3-5 mins until just golden and bubbly.
Crumble goats cheese. Gently fold through yogurt.
Serve: Place fig hearts on pie, one piece per slice. Serve pie with goats cheese yogurt and extra figs. Serves 8 – 12.
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This post is part of the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop, February ‘Love at First Bite’ Adventure hosted by Nic at Dining With a Stud. Check out all the other wonderful desserts that have been linked-up below!
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How funny we both made something with beetroot for a dessert blog hop!!! Great minds think alike! Your pie looks gorgeous! I would never have thought of putting beetroot and mango together….but then again I wouldn’t have thought of putting chocolate and beetroot marmalade together either.
Great minds… or great taste buds… whatever fits right! Your choc cake sounds delicious as well!
Your pie crust looks amazing, I love that you rolled it in pieces, it is beautiful. You pie looks gorgeous too, an interesting combination I wouldn’t have thought of but would like to try!
aw thanks! It was a fun one to make
Looks fantastic! I was making coloured pancakes the other day (posted on my blog soon) and I was so going to use beetroot as a colouring but then I ran out of time and money and just used food colouring 🙂 However – your pie looks great!
ohh, beetroot would be lovely in pancakes!! Topped with mango perhaps 😉
Looks amazing as usual! I love beetroot too so I may try this one day – seems like it might go well with mulled wine in winter… mmmm….
Cheers Michelle – umm, it would go well with mulled wine (or chai tea!)
That crust looks absolutely amazing, and I love the sound of all the spices in the pie filling. Your moods suit you!
ohhhh wow. I love this pie just for it’s looks but I know I’d love it even more if I had a taste! I must make this! What a gorgeous crust! What an amazing color! I’m not even a pie person and this is making me want pie.
I love this idea. Very original and great with those spices. I look forward to making this
Scrumptious, in fact, quite amazing! Love at first bite indeed.
Your cinnamon swirl crust is so cute – I *love* the idea! Beautiful pie and the roasted figs sound delicious.
What a great pink colour that cake is. And I love the beautiful base and the heart shaped fig slices.
There are a lot of flavours going on in this cake – what would you say is the dominant flavour?
Very interesting concept, JJ.
The un-baked filling was actually that almost fluro pink colour! The beetroot wins out on flavour overall. The mango serves to mellow it a bit and add sweetness while the spices give a bit of a punch. You are right, there is a bit going on but somehow it all seemed to work!
I can’t say I’ve ever seen a mango and beetroot pie before. The colour is amazing.
What an absolutely stunning looking pie JJ! The beetroot really pretties things up 😀
I’m also curious what the main flavour is overall?
Beetroot and mango is so crazy that it jut might work lol. I’d be more than willing to give this baby a go 😀
Oh wow, this is so awesome!! I had the date all wrong and thought the blog hop was Wednesday. Oh well! Your dessert looks amazing and I love the color!
Must be beets are in the air….I was hungry for them and created a lovely beet soup…ate it for days.
Gorgeous visuals alone on this pie! Your photos have great texture and color – very nice! As for the pie,I imagine it tastes just great – the ingredients seem to compliment each other so I bet it turned out fantastic!
JJ, you’ve done it again! I totally admire what you do, it’s quite extraordinary but I’m still not brave enough to try!
Interesting pie… would love to try a piece! Love the colour the beetroot gives the pie. What is “ashed” goats cheese?
Hi Moya – ‘ashed goats cheese’ is regular goats cheese (chevre) that has been coated in ash – usually from vine leaves. Most grocery stores have at least one brand! You can of course use regular goats cheese too.
Your combinations keep on getting better…absolutely loving them JJ! Great colours and textures…I’m especially smitten with that pie crust!
What an interesting taste combination, though I can see how it works! It sounds n looks delicious! The figs just tops the dish off perfectly! I’ve only just discovered figs and am eager to cook them! I might have to give a GF version of this a go!
This is one seriously cool pie. I LOVE this!
What a great idea, I bet it tastes as good as it looks.
I love that you made this pie. I have a half-made chunky fruit pie sitting on my counter, ginger-mango with a simple almond flour crust, waiting for me to finish it… I thought it looked like there wasn’t enough filling, and so after rooting in the fridge I came up with some beets. I was thinking about grating some in to fill it up a bit more and wondered if anyone else in the world had ever thought to combine beets and mangos in a pie. And here you are! I just might give it a go, based on your success!
Oh that’s too funny! I’d love to know if you tried it 🙂 ~ JJ