My mother is known for always having a couple of homemade spreads on hand. In fact, if we’re out of pesto to put on open faced sandwiches in the morning (we’re Swedish after all) she has been known to make a fresh batch at 6 a.m. Completely normal in a food appreciating household.

Which is why I was in no way surprised when I was home this summer and in the midst of trying to come up with an appropriate crust recipe for a gluten free appeltaart, she exclaimed, “oh! you have to try the beet pesto!”

Of course.

What’s fun about beets is that you get an intense color, and a taste that blends well with the olive oil and feta in the recipe. And it’s perfect served with Five Seed Crackers. And although I had nothing to do with coming up with this recipe, my mother is nice enough to let me publish it here.

Beet Pesto

Ingredients:

• 4-5 small beets
• 3 tablespoons feta cheese or chèvre
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 2-3 mint leaves
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• dash of pepper

Directions:

Rinse and cut off the tops of the beets and put them in a saucepan. Add enough enough water to cover the beets. Bring water to a boil and then simmer with the lid on for 20 minutes, or until soft enough to poke with a fork.

Place in food processor and mix until a smooth consistency. Add in rest of ingredients.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.