Get with the Beet !

Second helpings are always a good thing and there is no exception in the case of the deeply delicious beetroot. Normally and probably quite rightly one associates the deep earthy flavours of this particular purple bulb with the autumn, but in fact these roots are available pretty much all year: bar a brief holiday from April till June. It therefore comes as a complete delight to find what appears to be a second crop available just now, but this is really the beginning of the season that began in late June and will now continue through till next February or even March. The beets available now are smaller, sweeter and cook more easily than those larger ones available in the winter month’s, which can sometimes have a tough woody core.

There are many ways to prepare and eat beetroot but I find the best place to start no matter what recipe I am intending to follow is to roast the beets in the oven until tender and from there I can do what ever I so desire with ease. I have noticed that many cook books instruct a roasting of around 45 minutes, this in my opinion is a complete fallacy, I can’t remember ever being able to roast a beet from raw to tender in this time, an hour and a half maybe, but never much less than an hour, so bear this in mind before starting any recipe involving beetroot.

My preferred method is quite simple, produces a deep rich colour, flavour and velvety texture, let alone a delicious aroma that will fill your kitchen making you instantly and ridiculously hungry. Simply remove most of the roots and stalks from the beets, scatter a good handful or two of sea salt on the bottom of a large sheet of foil, place the washed and dried beets onto the bed of salt, wrap the foil up tightly and place on a tray in a preheated oven at 180 degrees. As I said you can expect this process to take around 90 to 120 minutes depending on the size and age of your beets. You can always test them with a skewer after an hour and see how they’re doing. When completely tender, allow them to cool and then rub off the skins with your fingers ( wear some rubber gloves if you don’t want stained fingers) and trim off the stalks and roots.

Now you have a delicious cooked beet that can be added to salads, pan-fried with carrots and balsamic vinegar, made into deep velvety soup that can be eaten hot or cold and even used to make a surprisingly good, moist cake.

I am a huge fan of the beet and find it a complete joy to cook with. I love the way it partners so well with fruit and in these two recipes I do exactly that. The soup is a delicious alternative to Borscht, the apple lightens and sweetens and this version is equally good hot or cold. The salad is simply wondrous, tangy, salty (from the olives) and sweet from both the beets and the fruit. It looks quite stunning too and is super simple to make.

Beetroot , orange and olive salad

Serves: 2

• 400g beetroot 
• 2 sweet blood or blush oranges 
• 50g black dried pitted olives 
• ½ a small red onion very finely chopped 
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar 
• 3 tbsp olive oil 
• Flat leaf parsley chopped 
• Salt & pepper 

Prepare the beetroot by washing, trimming off the long stalks and sitting them on a bed of sea salt wrapped up inside a piece of foil. Place them in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees and roast for at least 90 minutes or until completely tender when pierced with a skewer or sharp knife. Allow to cool for a while, and then remove the stalks and skins, slice into wedge shape pieces and place in a large mixing bowl.

Cut the skins from the oranges by slicing off the ends and cutting down the sides of the fruit to reveal the flesh, thus removing any pith, cut out the segments of orange from in-between the membranes and put the segments and the juice in the same bowl as the beetroot.

Add all the other ingredients: olives, onion, olive oil, red wine vinegar and chopped parsley to the bowl, mix the salad together, season with salt & pepper to taste and serve on a large platter. 

Beetroot, apple & celery soup

Serves: 4

• 1kg Beetroot (roasted)
• 500g Apples
• 1 large onion
• 1 Celery stalk
• 200ml white wine
• 1 tbsp Demerara sugar
• 1.5ltr vegetable or chicken stock
• 2tbsp olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• Crème fraiche
• Chives

Wrap the beetroot in foil and roast in the oven at 180 degrees for an hour or until tender, peel the skins off the beets and slice. Sweat the onion and celery in a large pan in a little olive oil. Peel, core and slice the apples add these to the pan and cook down for a while. Add the sugar, white wine and cook for a few minutes more until all the ingredients are combined. Pour over the stock, season and simmer gently until everything is thoroughly tender and cooked through: about 30 mins. Allow to cool for a little while and then place in a food processor and blitz into a smooth soup. Return to a pan, heat gently and then serve with a swirl of crème fraiche or sour cream and a scattering of finely chopped chives or dill if preferred. This soup is excellent served chilled.