Beetroot

[Adam Balic]

I walked into a local store and noticed several different types of beetroot: Normal, white and golden. I bought three of each, now I am wondering what to do with them suggestions?

[Jinmyo]

Hm. What immediately springs to mind:

Roast, peel, puree seperately with some chicken stock, season. Serve as a three coloured cool soup. Saute the greens with shallots and serve with pork crackling or lardons. Crostini with sheep's cheese.

[sarah w]

we did a lovely dish the other week. boil your beetroot with skin on, either trim until its nice and round or a cube

coat in beer batter

deep fry and serve with fresh horseradish cream and chopped chive

delicious

xx

[Andy Lynes]

I had a salad of two colours of beets with boiled egg, watercress and a horseradish and mustard dressing at the Blue Print Cafe recently which was lovely, although swimming in the dressing which I had to be very careful not to spill down me.

[browniebaker]

Simply boiled, buttered, and salted is the only way for me, the only variations being whether I slice or cube the beets. Anything more seems to be gilding the lily but, then, I love beets beyond all reason.

[dscott]

My favorite way is roasted and simply drizzled with a really good balsamic.

[Peter B Wolf]

"Beetroot may have a bit of an image problem with some folk, but in fact it's very high in the mineral boron, which is thought to influence the production of human sex hormones."

says: Martin Wainwright , Saturday July 26, 2003 , The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/food/Story/0,276...1006368,00.html

[Jon Tseng]

Peeled, cut into batons the size of fat chips and glazed in a pan with a little butter and a sprinkle of sugar. Add water up to halfway up, cover with a cartouche, cook til done then take off the cartouche and let the water boil away until you have an icky sticky glaze.

The other great summer recipe is to boil or roast then let cool. Make up some blackcurrant jelly with half the normal water and a teaspoon on vinegar. Slice the beetroot, layer with the jelly and leave to set. Nice on a hot afternoon with smoked salmon, creme fraiche, horseradish and other baltic-stylee accompaniments

Beetroot and blackcurrant jelly is, apparently an old english combination, but it is interesting heston b appears to have arrived at beetroot/blackcurrant jellies from a different direction (i think he says the chemicals are similar or something random)

J

[alanamoana]

roasted, peeled, wedges, chopped fresh herbs, salt, pepper, olive oil (evoo)

the simpler the better

[SobaAddict70]

so tonight's creation will be something with beets. it will be, hopefully, something that will allow people to view the vegetable in a whole new light, and away from the main criticism which is that it tastes like 'dirt'. FYI, this is part of The Year of Cooking Seasonally project that I began in January 2012.

what do you like to do with beets, besides roast them or turn them into soup?

[LindaK]

Slaw. Shredded golden beets with some cilantro, scallions, and a gingery dressing. Also works well as a slaw with other veggies without the Asian accent.

Chips. Slice very thin, toss with oil, salt, and bake til crisp. I suppose you could fry them too but I've never bothered.

Ice cream. Okay, I haven't tried it. But Jenni's Spendid Ice Creams has a recipe for Beet Ice Cream with Marscapone, Orange Zest, and Poppy Seeds that has me wondering...

[janeer]

Beets do NOT taste like dirt. The ideas posted in previous years in this thread are all good. I love beets with goat cheese and corn on grilled pizza--my favorite pizza, in fact. I use them in tacos. I make an ice cream topping. Red flannel hash, of course.

[DanM]

I like to make a salad with them. Roast and chop the beets, toss them with shallots, pistashios, goat cheese, herbs (tarragon is fun), an unfiltered olive oil and either cider or balsamic vinegar.

Edited June 27, 2012 by DanM (log)

[rlibkind]

Beet rosti...basically a beet pancake.

[SylviaLovegren]

Roasted with oil or butter and salt and pepper. Roast a bunch of them, eat the first batch plain. Use the others in salads with vinaigrette, especially with goat cheese. Or marinate with vinegar, sugar and clove to make sweet and sour beets.

[heidih]

I love young ones raw as a salad - grated and dressed with a citrus heavy dressing. A crumble of feta or blue cheese and toasted nuts turns it into a perfect summer dish for me.

[Jenni]

I love beetroot in raita. A number of seasonings go well with it. A favourite of mine is to heat some oil or ghee and add mustard seeds plus a pinch of hing. Sometimes I also add urad dal and cumin seeds. When the seeds pop, I add curry leaves and minced green chillies, swiftly followed by grated beetroot plus a bit of salt, and stir it around until the beetroot is wilted but still retains some texture. Then I cool it and mix with yoghurt, adjusting salt to taste. I always added chopped coriander to this, but also sometimes mint. And sometimes I add garlic to the seasoning, just before the beetroot, as garlic-beetroot-yoghurt-mint is a heavenly combination.

Another dish I like to make is good for breakfast. It's a poha dish. Poha is beaten rice, that is to say rice that is beaten flat. It cooks very quickly. It comes in different thicknesses, and for this dish you need the "mota" or thick kind. Rinse it gently and leave it in a seive. For four people you need around 2 cups (of 250ml size). Meanwhile, peel and grate the raw beetroot and chop up some onion and mince some green chillies to taste. Quantities of all this is up to you. You just need one onion, and Indian onions are smaller so don't use a huge one. They are also reddish in colour but not like red onion in taste. Number of beetroot will depend on size and preference. But there should be enough vegetable for taste, without drowning the dish as it is a starch dish not a veg dish.

Heat some oil, preferably coconut, in a pan (just 1-2 tablespoons is plenty for four people), and when hot add urad dal, followed by mustard seeds and cumin (about 1 tsp each) plus a pinch of hing. For variety, you can also make it with 1 teaspoon each chana and urad dal, but no cumin. When the dal reddens and the mustard pops, add minced green chillies, curry leaves and onion. Stir and fry for a bit, then add grated beetroot and salt. Stir and fry until cooked but still with texture. Add the poha and stir and fry gently to combine it well and cook the poha. It just takes a few minutes. Check for salt while you are at it. There should be enough moisture in the dish already, but if not you can sprinkle a little water. But the end dish should keep the shape of the poha and be tender but not mushy so don't add a lot. Finally, add as much grated fresh coconut as you like (at least 1 tablespoon per person), and some chopped fresh coriander (just 1-2 tablespoons is fine) and stir it in. I love to eat this with a chutney with a sour and chilli kick to it. It's also good with plain yoghurt. Or if you have nothing like that on hand, just squeeze a little lemon juice over your serving.