We have recently been told by our landlord that we can now use the vegetable plot at the back of our garden which has been used for the past 85 years by his aunt. It is stocked full with carrots,leeks,potatoes and a whole load of beetroots.
We got a call from Janet,our gardener friend who has maintained this veg plot for the last few years,on Tuesday this week telling us a heavy frost was forcasted and we should get the beetroot out of the ground as they would be damaged if the frost came. Apparently the carrots,leeks and potatoes are all fine left in the ground but not so beeteroot.
On Wednesday the children and I wrapped up warm and as the winter sun was setting and plucked all of the beetroots out and put them into a large blue Ikea bag. We have so many beetroots but not entirely sure what we can do with them. I mentioned this to my mum and apparently her friend Jean has a great recipe for beetroot and cranberry cake which is like carrot cake only bright pink. As Edie my three year old daughter *loves* all things pink I’ve looked for a similar recipe (as mum’s friend Jean is away on holiday at the moment).
All from Abel and Cole website (organic vegetables home delieveries) which gives loads of great seasonal veg recipes…
Beetroot bleeds and will stain your hands. Remove the stains with lemon,or wear gloves.
Raw:Prepare beetroot by cutting off the tops and then peeling with a potato peeler. After peeling,beetroot can simply be grated,tossed with a little orange juice and eaten raw.
Boiled:Beetroot can be boiled or steamed for 20-60 minutes depending on its size. It is cooked when you can pierce it easily with a skewer. Allow cooling and then the skins will just slip off.
Baked:Beetroot can also be baked. Wash,trim the stalks and wrap each beetroot separately in foil. Place in a moderate oven for about 40 minutes,then serve.
This recipe has come from one of our customers,David Perry,who wanted to share his recipe which uses beetroot in a surprising way,but works very well!
75 g cocoa
180 g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
250 g castor sugar
250 g cooked beetroot
3 large eggs
200 ml vegetable oil
Vanilla extract
Whizz the beetroot into a purée and add the eggs,and then the oil. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and add the beetroot purée. Bake at 180°C for about 30 minutes.
Seems easy enough.
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You’ll have to let us know if it tastes beet-y or if the chocolate reins supreme. I’ve refused to eat beets since I was little,because “they taste like dirt!”Maybe I’ll have to give them a second chance,with my grown-up taste buds.
Will do Amy. Let’s hope it tastes better than the betroot I popped under the bonfire as an experiment –it tasted like burnt dirt!!