RECIPE // beetroot rosti with avocado

If you had told me when I was little that one day I would be so crazy about avocado that I would even eat it for breakfast, I would have laughed in disbelief. Because avocado is green. And back then I was *quote* allergic *end quote* to anything green. So the very thought of avocado toast would have been ludicrous. But here we are. Here we are in an age where our news feeds are image after image of the green stuff.

But why stop there? If we are going to turn to turn the rules of acceptable breakfast fare upside down, why not go all the way? Which is where ladies and gentlemen, I throw beetroot into the mix.

Full of iron, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin B, and a good source of folic acid, fibre and potassium, beetroot is proven to be good for us. So why is the idea of eating it first thing in the morning unfathomable? No more, my friends.

The other morning I made these beetroot rosti's (think of them as classy hash browns, if you will!) and oh my word, why haven't we tried this sooner? Beetroot is good. That is, if you can overlook its messy demeanour.

With beetroot forever staining my skin / clothing / crockery / work surfaces, the Marigold Extra Safe Disposable Gloves* I was sent to review were perfect for the job.

But Lucy, there are so many disposable gloves out there, I hear you say. Why these gloves?

Well, the Marigold Extra Safe Disposable Gloves mark the launch of the first ever gloves made with food preparation and handling in mind. With the added benefits of being:

• 100% latex free - perfect for those with latex allergies

• Tested to EN standards and having the ECARF label and seal of approval

• 100% powder free - having tried out the gloves for myself, I can verify I didn't have any sort of powder or grit contaminating my food or any leftover on my hands afterwards. Nor did my hands have that weird plastic glove smell afterwards (win!)

All in all, meaning that your hands have the ultimate protection against smells and stains. Which when you cook with garlic as much as I do, is music to your ears.

For the ultimate test against the trinity of stains, smells and rips, I decided that a beetroot rosti would fit the bill perfectly for the following reasons:

• Stains - would the gloves protect my hands from the sheer bloodshed you get from opening a pack of beetroot?

• Smells - would the gloves help with the classic annoyance of having my hands and nails smell of garlic DAYS after I have cooked with the damn thing?

• Rips - how would the gloves fare against a grater when I grated the potatoes and beetroot?

And I must say, I was impressed. I had already hoped that my hands would be stain and smell free - because that's the very least you can ask from gloves like these. However I honestly didn't expect them to survive the grater. Because I wasn't exactly being light handed on the thing. If I wasn't wearing gloves, I probably would have shred my fingers to pieces!

The end result was delicious (the rosti's not the gloves!). I pan fried each rosti for approx 4-6 minutes on each side and then served whilst hot with a generous sprinkling of rock salt to help enhance the crunch of the rosti, and topped with buttery avocado slices. Because beetroot and avocado is a winning flavour combination (go try it if you haven't already!). And what better way to start your day than with a colourful plate staring up at you?

Perfect for breakfast / brunch / lunch, if you want to give this colourful plate a go one day, you can find the full recipe below:

YOU WILL NEED...

• x4 large Maris Piper potatoes
• x3 cloves of garlic
• Pack of x4 ready to eat beetroot
• Salt and pepper
• Cooking oil
• x1 avocado

METHOD

1. Scrub potatoes to remove any excess dirt. Do not peel as there are so many good nutrients in the skin and it would be a shame to waste them!
2. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and boil your potatoes for 7-8 minutes on a medium-high heat.
3. Run your potatoes through a colander and drain. Leave to one side to cool.
4. Once cool, grate the potatoes (I use an IKEA grater container as it makes grating so much easier and neater, keeping it all contained in one place)
5. Transfer your shredded potatoes into a large mixing bowl
6. Season with salt and pepper and add the crushed garlic
7. Next grate the beetroot - things will get messy! This is where having the Marigold Extra Safe Disposable Gloves came in really handy, protecting my hands.
8. Add the beetroot to the other ingredients in the mixing bowl. Combine and form however many patties you like (I made x8 big ones!). The mixture will very quickly look like super pink burgers!
9. Oil a frying pan and fry each rosti for 4-6 minutes on each side, or until golden. Dab each one off on kitchen towel once done to mop up the excess oil
10. Serve whilst hot, adding more seasoning to taste

Makes approx x8 rosti's

Do let me know in the comments below or by reaching out to me on Twitter or Instagram (I'm @Lucy_Angele on both!) if you give this recipe a try! It's something a little bit different from avocado toast, but is every bit as tasty!

* Post sponsored by Marigold

The Riding House Café

Earlier this week, I headed to The Riding House Café for brunch. I’d been dying to visit ever since I first laid eyes on their breakfast menu online. That morning, snowflakes were falling from the sky and it was bitterly cold. We stepped inside - the warmth being an absolute joy - and were led to seats up at the bar. In no time at all, I had a lovely cup of hot chocolate nestled in-between my hands.

There was an astounding amount of choice and although very tempted by their buttermilk pancakes, I couldn’t resist the idea of chorizo hash browns:

What I still can't get over is how generous the portion sizes were. I expected one or two small-ish hash browns artistically arranged on the plate but as you can see, the hash brown exceeded expectations and in fact filled up most of the plate. Words cannot express just how delicious it was. Pieces of chorizo were scattered throughout the hash brown but the beauty of it was how even if you just had a forkful of potato, those lovely flavours from the chorizo still translated through.

The pairing of the chorizo hash brown with the wilted spinach, mushroom, and poached eggs made for the most incredible marriage of flavours. I’m not usually a fan of poached eggs, but piercing them and watching the yolk bleed into the hash brown? Perfection.

The one thing I loved about The Riding House was how friendly and welcoming the staff were. As it was so cold, I dressed accordingly in my Timberlands and my slouchy cosmic print jumper. I find some shops and restaurants to be quite snooty with you if you dress down a little. The Riding House Café didn’t bat an eyelid and certainly didn’t treat us any differently from any other customer there.

Inside, there is a lovely feel to the place. Usually I would never dream of going for food on my own but with The Riding House, I could easily make an exception. There was a lovely calming atmosphere so I would have no qualms about going for brunch on my own, sitting in a corner with my nose in a book or writing the next installment of my novel. Although their main meals look equally tempting.

Thanks for having me. You will be seeing me again soon.

NB: This is not a sponsored post. I simply enjoyed my experience and wanted to share the love!