What to do with Beets...

[RosieC]

My sister served me the best chocolate cake I've tasted while we were visiting Mum. She told me afterwards that it had beatroot in it. Really works well.

[nenella]

Originally Posted by RosieC

I didn't like them for years, until I discovered them roast with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, ground black pepper and finely chopped rosemary sprinkled over before cooking.

They are now my absolute favourite vegetable.

They are meant to be very good for you as well I hear. Something in red veg is good for you.

Rosie, I'd love to try 'your way' but could do with a bit more info please. do you peel them (when raw ) before cooking? Do you cook them whole? How long do they take at what Temp? Do you put the vinegar on once cooked? etc etc....
Thanks in advance!

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by nenella

Rosie, I'd love to try 'your way' but could do with a bit more info please. do you peel them (when raw ) before cooking? Do you cook them whole? How long do they take at what Temp? Do you put the vinegar on once cooked? etc etc....
Thanks in advance!

They are pealed raw and chopped into cubes. With the size beetroot we have it may be 4 or 6 cubes per beet, probably as a guideline they would be around 1" cubes or a bit smaller (obviously quite irregular cubes with the shape of the beets), too small and they dry too much and over-cook.

They are put in a bowl with a bit of olive oil and moved around to get a thin coating. This also helps stop them drying too much. Then laid out on a baking tray often mixed with other root veggies. We tend to find it's best if they are laid out close, not spread too much.

We sprinkle the contents of the tray with Balsamic vinigar, fresh ground black pepper and finely chopped Rosemary (fresh from the garden in the summer, frozen or dried works in the winter but if it was bought dried we chop it finer than it comes in the packet).

It is then roast in the oven. I will have to get back to you with temp and duration as hubby does that bit and he's still asleep at the moment. It's somewhere around 200-220C and could be somewhere around 20min but I will have to check that. The aim is to get them tender, undercooked will be too hard as you bite through, overcooked will be dried out and too crispy (even black). Just cooked right and they are tender and soft, a little bite to them but not too much. Oooh, that's making me hungry

As I said above we often do a mixed tray of veg all cooked the same way. Beetroot is my favourite part but we will mix in Carrot, Parsnip, Sweet Potato, Butter-nut Squash and things like that. Sometimes just one of them, sometimes more, sometimes everything like that we have.

I never used to like veg at all. My mum tried for years to get me to eat veg and gave up when I reached 16. My mother-in-law when I lived with her tried as well and I would eat some to be polite and because I knew I should. Cooking veg this way is the first time I actually enjoy veg, possibly even enjoying it more than the meat in some meals and I never thought that would be the case

[nenella]

Thanks Alot Rosie! I'll be trying this out next week.

[RosieC]

It's 220C and around 30-35 minutes. Sorry, forgot to come back with that yesterday. Timings may vary with your oven of course and we've sometimes got them over and sometimes under-done. But when got just right they are wonderful.

[Wrebbitrocks]

now, this is one of the vegetables that intimidates me the most... what is it exactly? well i know what it is but taste-like? is it a cross between potato and carrot, bitter, starchy, mellow? ....idk i REALLY want to eat them because i feel guilty when i pass all the unused/unwanted vegetables at the grocery store and only imagine how much land and resources were wasted when they get thrown out i just feel like id be helping out a bit... thanks

[RosieC]

It's a pretty sweet veg. Difficult to describe though. My hubby suggested Sweet & Earthy as a description.

It's sweetness is actually one reason it took me a long while to like it. In the UK it is usually pickled in vinegar to counteract the sweetness but many people don't like that these days and I've seen various cookery programs recently that have been showing other ways to cook it to try and encourage people to eat it again. A variation on the roasting one we saw was the one that worked for me.

[Wrebbitrocks]

that doesnt sound that bad. it sounds quite good actually. im going to buy one and try your recipe. i also see some wonderful heirloom varieties at places like whole foods and they come in plenty colours.

[nenella]

Originally Posted by Wrebbitrocks

that doesnt sound that bad. it sounds quite good actually. im going to buy one and try your recipe. i also see some wonderful heirloom varieties at places like whole foods and they come in plenty colours.

As already mentioned I Love Beetroot!
I have eaten beetroot salad - basically boiled beetroot, skin removed, then cut up into cubes and dressed simply with salt, black pepper, olive oil & balsamic vinegar - this is a part of the veg starter we often love eating. usually a whole plate of crudités (fineley sliced or chopped vegetables tossed in a dressing) which often include beetroots. Other typical French plates of crudités can also include, grated carrots, cucumber in youghurt/or cream; etc....
let us know what you think?

PS: I have only tried Red beeetroot

[Jennyfleur]

I like the description of 'sweet and earthy', that's pretty good! The taste does vary though, so some will be sweeter than others. Definately going to do roast veg al la Rosie next time we have a roast dinner!

One great way to eat them it is to put sliced, cooked beetroot on Burgers This was introduced to me years ago when I was in Australia and it was fantastic! (...and I'm pretty sure that someone said that in New Zealand, they add beetroot and pineapple... but I've never been to NZ, so I don't know if it's true)