Beet, cheese, goats and all

“Oh I hate beetroot.” If you’re of a certain age and your dad didn’t have a vegetable patch, you may have grown up with a horrible kind of beetroot. The detestable  kind that came in jars and was pickled to death, ruthlessly executed in a harsh malt vinegar that could strip the paint off the railings of Stephen’s Green.

It was the finger-staining, throat-cutting beetroot that would lord it over the rest of a “salad” along the lines of…

1. Cos lettuce (very limp)
2. Egg (v. hardboiled)
3. Scallions (thick)
4. Tomato (three halves)
5. A big dollop of “dressing” (i.e. Heinz Salad Cream)

No wonder many Irish people still have an aversion to “the beetroot”.

But what about real beetroot (betterave in French, an biatas in Irish), the stuff you cook yourself (or even buy ready cooked and vacuum packed)?

Real beetroot really is a  different animal. It’s sweet, earthy, low in calories, and rich in antioxidants including betanin (which is also used as a food dye).

Beetroot is a trendy superfood for the likes of Italian chef Antonio Carluccio – he’s nothing less than a beetroot beatnik. It’s even becoming a cliché in many Irish restaurants now, as the starter with goats’ cheese. And what a lovely cliché it is. So let’s not call it a cliché – it’s a classic. Of the beet generation.

Roast beetroot recipe

Our favourite, simple way to cook beetroot is to roast it. It may look unpromising at the start, but bear with us – the finished dish is gorgeous.

Scrub the beets (try not to break the skin) and put them on a baking dish with some whole cloves of fat garlic and a few sprigs of fresh thyme.

Sprinkle with rapeseed oil, cover it with foil and place in a hot oven (about 180C) and bake for 45 minutes to an hour (depending on size) until tender. (Take the garlic out if it looks like it’s about to burn.)

Let them cool down until you can just about handle them, and here’s the fun bit: peel them under running water in the sink. The skin should slip off very easily. This also means your fingers won’t get stained. You can also slice off any remains of the leafy top, and pinch off the tail if it stlll has one.  Eat warm, or cold, with what you fancy.

For example, serve thinly sliced or cubed with a few salad leaves, a teaspoon of finely chopped herbs (thyme or mint), walnuts or hazelnuts (lightly toasted), a sprinkle of extra virgin olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, just a tiny streak of good honey and – oh, nearly forgot – some creamy (not chalky) goat’s cheese.

More beetroot recipes soon…

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