Tuesday 1 October 2013

Beetroot...

...it's a bit like Marmite. Well, actually it's absolutely nothing like Marmite but you know what I mean... you either love it or hate it. There doesn't seem to be any middle ground. Me... I love it!
 
 
Which is why I always grow it, but this year I seem to have gone a little overboard when I was planting and we have somewhat of a glut. It goes in salads and we are particularly fond of it sliced onto pizza. Beetroot and goat's cheese pizza is our current favourite topping... one of those flavour combinations that were meant for each other.

 
But I keep trying to find new and different ways of slipping it into our diets over the past couple of weeks. There is soup of course... always good.

 
And I have made a beetroot and chocolate cake which Jacob was devouring with relish until he discovered I'd hidden vegetables in his cake.

 
A made a couple of jars of pickles...

 
which look so beautiful glowing red in their jars.

 
And last night I made a Beetroot and Horseradish (another winning combination) Pie. Anyone who has ever been a student or tutor at Missenden Abbey will know about their famous Beetroot pie which is a favourite with everyone. This recipe claims to be the genuine article...

 
and I have to say it tasted pretty authentic!

 
And last of all I have made a Chocolate Beetroot ice-cream. I thought the jury might be out on this one but no... they like it. It tastes intensly sweet and chocolately with a slightly earthy flavour. Unusual but good... another winner from Hugh's Veg book!

 
I think there might be risotto on the menu this weekend but I could do with some more suggestions to use up the couple of dozen more roots that are still lingering in the veg patch. How about you... do you love it or loath it? And what's your favourite beetroot recipe?

25 comments:

  1. I love beetroot, just on its own as a vegetable. I also love it in a sweet and sour orange sauce. The basic ingredients are orange juice, cornflour, balsamic vinegar and honey or brown sugar. Sorry I can't give you quantities, I can never remember, but just add the stuff until it tastes nice apart from the cornflour and then just use the cornflour to thicken the sauce to a thickish consistency

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  2. no recipe but I love beetroot dip ! is it easy to grow?

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  3. I adore beetroot, especially combined with goat's cheese so I may have to try your pizza recipe.

    I have a feeling my Dad used to make beetroot wine (he made lots of wine, including peapod!) and a quick Google shows it is a thing!

    It can be nice roasted...unless you roast it a bit too much and then it's revolting, tastes like soap...ask me how I know.

    xxx

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  4. Love it!!!!! Just boiled with no vinegar is my favourite. Very boring I know but really love it just as it is.

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  5. I love it but have really only eaten it salad-wise, it is good with feta too!
    The pie, cake and ice-cream look absolutely amazing!
    V xxx

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  6. Oooh, beets! I love them -- just plain, roasted with salt and pepper and butter. Marmite, on the other hand...{fingers pinching nose}....

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  7. there's not much food I don't like Gina but beetroot, I just can't get my head round. I keep trying it as I want to like it but I haven't persuaded myself yet. you've certainly managed to find a huge range of different recipes to try it with.

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  8. I love beetroot too and just tuck into sliced beetroot in a balsamic salad dressing as I don't like too much vinegar. I don't cook with it very much but all your recipes sound and look delicious as usual and I do have Hugh's Veg book so have no excuses.

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  9. I love beetroot too. Some cracking ideas here and I'm very tempted to try them. Yum! x

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  10. I love it too. Fav recipe at mo is chopped into chunks, roasted and served with pasta and feta and pine nuts. No idea where the recipe came from but it's lovely ;-)

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  11. Beetroot risotto is very good but alarmingly pink.

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  12. Nigella's beetroot and ginger chutney is delicious!

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  13. I'm one of those who LOVES beetroot! I think I'd love all your recipes but one of my favourites of my own is homemade beetroot soup, I add tomatoes and stock and a small potato, it's delicious! xx

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  14. I do grow and eat beetroot but sometimes the overpowering redness of it makes feel a bit queasy, especially in dishes like risotto. I think the memory of red stained mashed potatoes from school dinners will stay with me forever- it was the fifties and we were forced to clear our plates!

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  15. I'm a beetroot convert, as a child I hated it with a passion. But I have to say my taste buds have changed and I love it in any form, no recipes sorry. I do love it roasted with other root veggies and then drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

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  16. What a lot of different recipes you have for beetroot - I would like to try them all - other than the pie with horseradish, which I really dislike. I would have to eat them all on my own as my family all turn up their noses, so I shall just stick to boring (but yummy) sliced beetroot in vinegar. Cheers

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  17. I must admit I love beetroot - and my sister does a sweet and sour beetroot which is lovely - they all sound delicious - but all very pink!

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  18. I love beetroot as a savoury thing, but that earthiness in cake or ice cream really, really freaks me out!

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  19. I love beetroot. I agree that Hugh's veg book is a great inspiration.I like his recipe for beetroot with walnuts and cumin.

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  20. Hate the taste, but love the colour. Can't you use it for a bit of natural dyeing. Maybe carry a little bit of it around in your handbag for emergency rouge?

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  21. Gina, maybe I am a bit on the fence regarding beetroot (or beets, as we call them over here in the States.) I do love their appearance, rarely prepare them, yet always enjoy the taste and texture when I encounter them in a restaurant or at someone else's home.

    You've certainly given me a lots of recipe ideas to contemplate. Thanks!

    xo

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  22. I love beetroot, but I'm never that good at growing my own. I love the look of all those recipes! I 'll add beetroot curry - I think it's a Sophie Grigson recipe, it has coconut cream in it and is amazingly pink!!!

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  23. Hello Gina,

    I absolutely adore beetroot and there are, as you have beautifully illustrated in this post, a multitude of ways of cooking it. Beetroot soup with a glug of cider vinager, a pinch of nutmeg and a drop of cream is delcious.

    I've gladly found you via Celia's blog. We are in the same sewing team for Celia's fabrics, I believe.

    Stephanie

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  24. Can't help you Gina, sorry.I can't stand beetroot. I'll eat it grated raw in a salad and that's about it. Your Mum must have been more adventurous than mine and brought you up to love them. All Mum ever did was boil it to death and kill it with vinegar. Yuck! Childhood memory turns into adult aversion!

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  25. I have no recipe but I like beetroot raw, grated on to a salad.

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