Friday 16 January 2015

WHAT TO DO WITH BEETROOT AND WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU?


Do you think winter vegetables are boring? Oh, no.
You may just do not know what to do with them?
Beetroot one of the most overlooked vegetables.
Behind its modest skin, there is a sexy, vibrant personality. Do not miss it out.
Below you can find 4 easy-peasy yummy beet recipes.



When we started weaning of both my daughters the first vegetable was beetroot, what we offered to them. It' s sweet, earthy and juicy taste was immediately a winner. Beetroot is not just for babies, though.
How would you use beets?
I beg your first idea is a salad. 
Have a look my favourite recipes below and you will see, how delicious food can be made with this  powerful veg. Deliberately there is no salad recipe among them. How about chocolate brownies?

Health benefits of beetroot

  • rich in calcium, iron, potassium 
  • contains vitamins A and C
  • powerful antioxidant
  • excellent source of folic acid, so it is highly recommended to include into pregnant women's diet (Note: in pickled beetroot, nearly all of the folate is destroyed)
  • reduces the risk of certain types of cancer 
  • good source of fibre
  • low in calories, so it is perfect food if you want to lose weight
  • by its iron content, it is recommended to treat anaemia 
  • reduces the risk of heart disease
  • help to maintain cholesterol level
  • It's GI is 64, which means it raise blood sugar level quickly, so perfect recovery food after exercising hard
Recommended serving size: about 3 small beets (about 4 oz, 114 g)

Recipes


What to do with beetroot?

Beet greens are tasty, good addition to green salads. However, just like spinach, beet leaves are high in oxalic acid, what can make difficult the absorption of calcium . That's why it is not recommended to consume a huge amount of it. It is best to mix it with other green leaves. But this is true only for the leaves.
Beetroot actually helps to absorb and utilise calcium, so it is best eaten with high calcium food like cheese. It is great boiled, roasted or baked. It loves companion of nuts like walnut or hazelnut - its best friends are soft and mould cheeses, though. 


Roasted beetroot

One of my favourite side dishes. You can offer to roast meat or sausages, but it is a great main dish with green salad leaves topped with soft goat cheese and roasted walnut in the company of a nice slice soda bread.

Ingredients:

1 kg beetroot
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp runny honey
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3-4 springs of thyme

Cook about 1 kg beetroot, let it cool to room temperature. I usually do this at night and carry on next day. Take off the skin from the beets. It is easy to peel when it has cooked properly. Small beets can be quartered, bigger ones cut into 6-8 wedges. put them into a shallow tin, add the oil, honey and vinegar. Give it a shake, scatter the thyme on the top and bake it on the middle shelf for 30-40 minutes, turning them around once during this time. They are good if the edges go a bit darker, but make sure they do not dry. Leave it to cool a little bit before serving.

Chocolate brownies with beetroot

Yes, yes, it is delicious. You will not taste the vegetable but the cake will benefit from its sweetness and makes the cake moist.

Ingredients:

175 g low-fat spread or butter
250 g cooked beetroot - cooled to room temperature, cooked and peeled (you can buy pre-cooked beetroot in supermarkets, that is perfect for this recipe)
150 g wholemeal flour
200 g light brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
30 g cocoa powder
200 g 70% dark chocolate - broken into small pieces
3 medium eggs
Preheat the oven to 180 C and line a 20*25 cm shallow baking tin with baking paper. Melt the chocolate and add the low-fat spread or butter to cool down a bit. Add the eggs and sugar and beat until it is smooth. In a separated bowl combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder and cocoa powder, Add the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture and fold in. Finally, add the grated  beetroot, and gently fold in. Pour the brownie mixture into the baking tin and bake for 25-30 minutes. Do not over-bake the cake as it can dry out, don't worry if it still seems a little soft as it will firm up on cooling. When it is cooled completely in the tin, cut into small squares.


Beetroot spread

Easy, tasty and very smart looking spread. Brilliant as a light breakfast or snack.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 big red onion
1 big or 2 medium beetroot cooked and grated
about 200 ml greek yoghurt
seasoning

Finely dice the onion, put the oil in a pan and add the onions and grated beetroot. Sauté until the vegetables become soft and there is no liquid remained in the pan.Add seasoning, then take a medium bowl. I usually use a showy glass bowl, this way the beautiful layering will be visible. Put about 4 tablespoon yoghurt on the bottom of the bowl, (it depends on the size of your bowl) then add one-third of the beetroot mixture, then 4-5 spoonful of yoghurt come, then the second beetroot layer and so on. Serve with toasted bread - walnut bread is the best.



Quick and delicious beetroot & apple smoothie


Ingredients:

1 medium cooked beetroot (what you can buy in supermarkets will do)
half of a carrot - cut smaller pieces
1 small apple - peeled and cored
200 ml apple juice


Put all the ingredients into your liquidizer or smoothie maker and whizz until it is smooth.
This simple little thing paired with an oatcake is perfect as a snack and gives you 2 of your 5-a-day.


You can find more mouthwatering beetroot recipes here:

http://www.lovebeetroot.co.uk

If you have other delicious recipe with beet leaves or beetroot, please share with us in a comment!

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