Beetroot Recipes

A friend asked for a few beetroot recipes as she has a glut and is looking for inspiration, so here goes:

Pickled Beetroot (Fowlers Vac style)

8 medium beet
1 litre of vinegar, either malt or white
1/2 cup granulated sugar
25 g Sausetta Blended Spices (or just an italian herb mix) if you're not using this recipe in the 70's!

1. Wash beetroot to remove soil, taking care not to break skin for beets bleed easily;
2. Place in saucepan with sufficient water to cover, bring to the boil, simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or untiol, when beets are pinched, skin removes easily;
3. Remove beets to cold water. REmove skins;
4. Cut into slices, quarters or dice;
5. Place rubber rings on throughly clean and just rinsed FV  jars/bottles;
6. Fill bottles with prepared beets, shaking or bumping bottle on palm of hand to pack firmly, leaving 12 mm gap from top of bottle;
7. Combine venegar, sugar and Sausetta, cover, bring to boil, then cool. Strain through a fine nylon sieve or muslin.
8. When cold, pour over beets to the brim of the jar, using a pakcing stick to remove any air pockets;
9. Place covers and clips on bottles;
10. Place in the preserver with required level of cold water (mine is thermometre manual type, so i'd do 3/4 of the way up the jars;
11. Process in presever using 'standard pickle preserving method'. (see below)

Standard pickle preserving method:

THERMOMETRE CONTROL: Bring temp slowly up to 92 deg celcius, taking at least 45 minutes, then maintain this temp for 45 mins.
THERMOSTAT CONTROL: Turn thermostat dial to 92 degs, switch on at power point, and leave on for 1/14 hours. Remove jars from preserver to a wire cake rack or wooden board to cool for 12-18 hours. Remove clip. Test for vacuum seal. Wipe bottles clean with damp cloth. Label.




Hugh Fearnley's
Chocolate and Beetroot Brownies
(Clair, if you make these, I want one!)

Ingredients

• 250g/10oz good, dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
• 250g/10oz unsalted butter, cut into cubes, plus more for greasing
• 250g/10oz caster sugar
• 3 free-range eggs
• 150g self-raising flour (we used wholemeal self-raising)
• 250g beetroot, boiled until tender, peeled and grated

Method: How to make chocolate and beetroot brownies

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Grease a baking tin of approximately 20 x 30 x 3cm and line the bottom with baking parchment.

2. Break up the chocolate into pieces, cut the butter into cubes then mix them up a bit in a heatproof bowl. As the oven begins to warm up, put the bowl onto one of the shelves for a few minutes until the chocolate and butter starts to melt. Stir, and put back into the oven for a few more minutes to melt completely.

3. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a bowl until combined, then beat in the melted chocolate and butter until smooth. Gently fold in the flour then the beetroot – be careful not to overmix or it will make the brownies tough.

Be careful not to overmix or it will make the brownies tough.

4. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth over the top with a spatula. Bake for about 20 minutes. A knife or skewer pushed into the middle should come out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Don't be tempted to overcook them! Remove the tin from the oven and leave on wire rack to cool before cutting into squares.

Roasted Beetroot and Orange Chutney
880 g beet, trimmed and washed;
zert of 1 orange
150 ml white wine vinegar
150 g white granulated sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 medium red onion, peeled and finely chopped

Preheat oven to 200 deg c
Wrap beetroot in foil and bake for 1 hour, or until tender. Remove and cool a little before peeling. Grate the cooked beetroot.
Finely chop the orange zest and place it in a saucepan with vinegar, sugar, cinnamon stick, and onion, and bring slowly to the boil. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the grated beetroot and cook for 10 minutes until reduced. Remove from head, pour into warm, sterilised jars and seal.
Sterilise in a hot-water bath for 30 minutes, or store in fridge.

(Syd Pemberton - Jams & Preserves)

Beetroot and Apple Chutney

750 g beetroot, peeled and grated
500 g apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1 onion, chopped
750 ml malt vinegar
500 g white granulated sugar
1 tablespoon grated fresh giner
200 g raisins

Place all ingreds in a preserving pan, and leave to stand for 2 hours. Place pan over a medium heat and slowly bring contents to the boil. Simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours until reduced, thick and syrupy. Remove from heat, pour into warm, sterilised jars and seal.

also, check out one of my older posts for Beetroot Icecream!