Beetroot - how best to prepare?

[sancocho10 10]

Hi

Sorry if this sounds daft but I'm not sure how to prepare this. I would like to have some with salad but don't know whether to cook it first (visions of blood stained kitchen) or if you can grate it raw?

 

I would buy it prepared but it is always floating in sugary vinegar so I thought I'd have a go myself.

 

Any tips?

[Cat86 10]

Im interested in this aswell, currently got some growing in the greenhouse..

 

never done it before, and trying to escape the memory of it being pickled in a jar in big round lumps by my dad.

[pattricia 578]

Hi

Sorry if this sounds daft but I'm not sure how to prepare this. I would like to have some with salad but don't know whether to cook it first (visions of blood stained kitchen) or if you can grate it raw?

 

I would buy it prepared but it is always floating in sugary vinegar so I thought I'd have a go myself.

 

Any tips?

 

Wash it well, and cover it with a little water, and cook it in a pressure cooker for 15 mins. (if you have one )

[medusa 16]

You can grate it raw- it's really quite nice grated in a salad, but I'd suggest wearing rubber gloves whilst doing it to avoid the 'blood stained murderer' look if you don't have a food processor with a grating disc Small beetroot can be scrubbed rather than peeled.

 

To cook them most people boil in a little water until tender, but it helps if you add a small amount of vinegar to the water to maintain the purple colour. Beetroot can suffer the same strange colour variations as red cabbage if the water is a bit too alkaline, and then you end up with a very unappetising dark blue colour.

 

I know someone who experimented with cooking them in a cling film covered jug with a little water in the bottom in the microwave and she said they came out fine if she was careful with not using the power too high and she punctured the beets properly before putting them in.

[sancocho10 10]

Thanks for the replies!

 

I'll have a bash at boiling first, surgical gloves at the ready

[chinaski 10]

Remember not to top n' tail them, in order to prevent the red dye spilling out.

[monstermummy 10]

Peel them, cut them in quarters (obviously depending on size) and roast them with some oil - yummy.

 

Or bake this: Beetroot and Chocolate Cake sounds bizarre but very moist and nice.

[jackydarnall 10]

just boil them and when the skin peels off there done. delicious

[officegirl 10]

wash and keep whole then wrap them in foil and roast with skins on until tender 1hr - 1 1/2 depending on size.

 

I eat it all even the skin as instead of a jacket potato - lovely with a drizzle of olive oil on and lots of black pepper

[jamesogt 11]

Wear gloves so as not to make your hands purple!

[sarebear1982 10]

Brilliant just about to start hunting for beetroot threads and someone beet me to it!

[grenhouse 10]

I love beetroot, anyway really! I love it roasted, its great raw or boiled, and it is fab in chocolate cake!