This week is a bit different as we might just be talking a wee bit out of season. But, our gardens are full of beetroot, and they are huge, delicious and just waiting to be pulled from the ground.
Everyone knows that the beetroot is a big love of mine.
What with the extremely popular beef and beetroot patties and meatballs in the supermarkets, to the beetroot ice-blocks I tested on kids on the food truck TV series.
Beetroot is just so universal and very good for you at the same time.
Check this out
- Beetroot is becoming a superfood
- Helps to improve athletic performance
- Reduce blood pressure. (something that I need)
- Increase blood flow
- A 2015 study of 68 people with high blood pressure examined the effects of drinking 250ml of beetroot juice every day. The researchers found that doing so significantly lowered blood pressure and improved ingestion.
If you were to ask me the best way to cook beetroot, I would say:
Bake it in the oven wrapped in tin foil with a touch of oil and salt until tender. Then allow to cool before rubbing off the skin and cutting.
Beetroot tart with onion jam, almond pesto
(serves 6)
Prep time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 25 minutes
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 3 beetroot (boiled, peeled, cut into wedges and roasted)
- 2 shallots, peeled and sliced thin
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ cup onion jam
- 100g Goat’s cheese
- pinch salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 8 basil leaves
Preheat oven to 190*C. Remove your rough puff pastry from the fridge and roll out two rectangles approx 25 cm by 15cm in size. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Lay one sheet of pastry on a baking tray, brushing the border with egg wash. Cut the second sheet into 3cm lengths and place onto the egg wash making a square border. Prick inside the square with a fork. Spread onion jam inside the square, and then layer the roasted beetroot on with dollops of goat’s cheese and shallots over top. Brush outside border with more egg, sprinkle salt and pepper over and bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden.
Garnish with almond chilli pesto and basil leaves.
Red onion jam
(makes 2 cups)
Prep time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 12 mins
- 3 red onions, finely sliced
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- pinch salt
Place all ingredients in a heavy-based saucepan. Cook on medium heat for about 12 minutes or until thick and syrupy.
Almond chilli pesto
Prep time: 10 mins
- 70g almonds
- 1 chilli, deseeded and finely diced
- 30g finely grated parmesan cheese
- 8 large basil leaves, finely chopped
- pinch salt
- 2/3 cup avocado oil
- juice and zest of ½ lemon
Toast almond in a hot frying pan until warm, transfer to a mortar and pestle, and roughly crush. Add chilli, parmesan, basil and salt and mix. Stir in oil and lemon.
Rough puff pastry
- 300gm plain flour with a pinch of salt added
- 50 gm Butter, chilled and cut into cubes
- 120 gm butter, frozen
Placing the flour in a large bowl. Rub in the chilled butter using your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Gradually add enough water to form a dough (about 4-6 tbsp of water)
Roll the dough out into a rectangle on a lightly floured work surface.
Grate half the frozen butter over the bottom two-thirds of the dough. Fold-down the top thirds of the dough. Fold down the top third and fold up the bottom third as if folding a letter.
Turn the folded dough through 90 degrees and roll it out into a rectangle again. Repeat the process of adding the remaining frozen butter and fold as before
Wrap the dough in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes before using.