Beets, New Potatoes & Halloumi Bake with a Secret Sauce

Is it the best way to use your tiny potatoes and beets? I think so! It’s absolutely delicious, perfectly balances the sweet-sour-earthy natural taste of the beets with the salty cheese, and the potatoes absorb the yummy secret sauce, you have to try this recipe!

For the bake you will need:

An oven pan, I used a glass Pyrex one

500 gr small new potatoes with skins, I used a red kind which looks great

250 gr or about 4 small beets, I used Chioggia beets

250 gr Halloumi cheese

2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

For the secret sauce:

2 tbsp date syrup (Silan)

1 tbsp good quality reduced balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (juice from about a half of lemon)

1 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp water

Method:

- Pre-heat your oven to 180°C, or 350°F.

- Wash and scrub the vegetables if needed, peel the beets, if the potatoes are new and have thin skins leave them on. Dice the beets as in the pictures, if the potatoes are very small, half them, dice bigger ones so the beets and the potatoes are more or less the same size.

- Transfer the vegetables to the oven pan, add the olive oil and mix to coat all the veggies.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until tender.

- When the veggies are baking, dice the Halloumi cheese to bite size cubes.

Prepare the secret sauce by mixing all its ingredients together.

- When the veggies are done (tender but not too soft) take the pan out of the oven, increase the oven’s temperature to 220°C or 430°F.

- Mix the vegetables in the pan and add the cheese and the secret sauce, mix again and bake for additional 7-10 minutes, the cheese should get a bit golden, but it does not melt.

For a vegan version:

Substitute the Halloumi cheese with tofu or tempeh. It would be best to start by dicing the tofu or tempeh, preparing the sauce and letting the tofu or tempeh marinate in it.

Tip: The taste of the date syrup is very special, but if you can’t get some, substitute with maple syrup.