Make This 3-Ingredient Dip With Charred Beets

A few months ago, I accidentally signed up for a farm box delivery service. This wouldn’t be such a big deal, except I buy a lot of food for work, and having too much perishable food in the fridge at any given moment gives me a small amount of anxiety.

I cannot figure out how to cancel the subscription entirely, but I have found a way to “skip” weekly shipments. It’s not a perfect solution, as I am prone to forgetfulness; I inevitably missed one, and an unwanted box of produce showed up on my stoop.

The box had kale, apples, celery, and beets, as well as a half gallon of milk. I gave the celery to a vegan, creamed the kale, and ate the apples, but—due to the fact that my sister was visiting and we were eating out a lot—the beets sat in the fridge a little longer than I would have liked. Their greens wilted and the beets themselves got soft in spots, but they were still quite edible.

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I cut them into wedges, tossed them in bacon fat, and chucked them in a 400℉ air fryer for about half an hour to get them nice and charred on the edges. I was all set to eat a pile of semi-burnt beets for dinner, when I remembered I had a quarter of a tub of sour cream and about an ounce of goat cheese, both of which were on the edge of getting weird.

I took half of the charred beet wedges (which translated into about 1 1/2 medium-sized beets), chopped them finely in the food processor, then added the sour cream and goat cheese and pulsed a few more times to combine. Then I ate it with salt and vinegar chips. It was tangy, earthy, creamy, salty, and sweet, with just enough bitterness from the burnt ends. It was fantastic, and nearly impossible to stop eating.

I didn’t measure anything, but that’s OK. This dip is very forgiving—the only real “mistake” you can make is going too heavy with the sour cream, so add it gradually. To make this simple but complex-tasting dip, you will need:

• At least 1 beet

• Some sort of cooking oil

• Salt

• 1-2 ounces fresh goat cheese (or more to taste)

• At least 1/2 cup sour cream

• Chips for shoveling into your mouth (preferably salt and vinegar)

Peel and chop the beet(s) into 1/2-inch thick wedges, toss with just enough oil to coat, and season with a few generous pinches of salt. Roast in a 400℉ oven or air fryer until the beets are soft and charred on the edges (30-40 minutes).

Let the beets cool, then chop them finely in a food processor. Add an ounce of goat cheese and a 1/4 cup of sour cream, pulse to combine, and taste. Add more cheese and/or sour cream to taste, pulsing a couple times after each addition, until it tastes sweet, creamy, tangy, and a bit bitter. You can eat this dip with any chip you desire, but extra acid from a salt and vinegar chip makes each bite extra divine.