In my experience beets one of the most under-utilized veggies. Their sweet-yet-earthy flavor can be hard to incorporate into some meals and the bright red color can stain. Despite all these obstacles, beets are extremely versatile and very nutritious.

In this ricotta beet tart beets are front and center. However, there are strong supporting roles in both the ricotta sauce and the pastry itself. So if you haven’t been scared off by a few beets let’s get into the making of this dish.

The first thing we need to do is the soften and pre-cook the beets. This is a simple process of oven roasting them with some thyme. This not only gives them more flavor, it also drives off some of the water in these very water-logged little root veggies.

Then it’s time to prepare the puff pastry. You could, of course, make your own. But, buying the frozen dough is about 95% less work.

For this tart you only need to spread out one thawed sheet onto parchment paper then top it with the second. Then mark out a square in the center and score it so that it doesn’t puff as much. This is how you create a “crust” from two thin sheets of dough. Pre-bake this just until it puffs and then work on the ricotta sauce.

This ricotta mixture adds rich favor and a creamy texture to the tart. A surprise ingredient of horseradish gives the just amount of spice to the cheesy mixture.

Spread this in the center of the pastry in a nice thick layer. Then top with your beets.

Bake just until the edges of the pastry are a darkened, golden color. Then sprinkle the top of the tart with some fresh thyme and parmesan.

The finished result is a tart so tasty that even “non” beet people will enjoy the combination of hearty beets with rich cheeses and pastry. Plus the extra bonus is that you’re eating a veggie that’s very high in B vitamins and in minerals. Nutrition and flavor together is a combo no one can beet, or er, beat.