So you’ve planted the seeds, and transplanted the seedlings. Nurtured these little plants with watering and weeding. If there’s plenty of plants then a small harvest of baby greens can be taken along the way. Then before you know it you’ve got masses of huge roots that need to be harvested and need to be turned into food so that all your effort does not go to waste. Or maybe you’ve snapped up a pile when in season from your local farmers market. Mmm what to do with it, is the question.
I don’t think you explore a vegetable until you’ve got it in abundance. Well that’s what I’m finding anyway. I thought it would be good to share with you what I am choosing to do with my harvests starting with beetroot. In the past I’ve pickled some beetroot and maybe roasted some but what I’m finding out is that there is a whole lot more that you can do with this colourful vegetable.
Veggie Juice
Love to enjoy a glass of juice in the morning while preparing breakfast!
Here I’ve gathered up veggies from the garden that I have in abundance at the moment. I also threw in the leftover bits of beet from another recipe. My oranges trees are not producing yet, and I have none from my neighbour who often shares their citrus with me so I’ve used some bought oranges to sweeten up the juice a little.
Beetroot Chips
This is the first time that I’ve made chips with beetroot. They have a strong earthy flavour and are surprisingly delicious. Great way to preserve and have a healthy snack just waiting for you in the pantry.
There are various recipes online but I chose one from allrecipes (see below) to use. It was a simple recipe where you just had to thinly slice the beets ideally with a mandolin. Then marinade in a mix of water, olive oil, apple cider vinegar and a little salt for about 10 minutes. Dehydrate in a dehydrator or a really low oven. Turned out great!
Roasted beetroot
I like to roast beetroot wedges then freeze on trays before piling in a bag to store in the freezer. It’s easy to grab out, thaw and use in salads or throw frozen into a tray with other vegetables and heat in the oven to enjoy with roasted meats. Quick and easy!
I peel the beets then cut up into wedges. Mix with a little olive oil and salt and pepper then roast until just done. Cool and spread out on a tray to place in the freezer. When frozen put into bags for freezer storage.
Beetroot and Carrot Slaw
This recipe is delicious! Discovered it yesterday and is one I’ll definitely make again.
Just grate your beetroots, some carrots and chopped some flat leaf parsley. Mix up a dressing of dijon mustard, celery seeds, redwine vinegar, olive oil, pepper, sugar and salt. Stir into your veggies then enjoy. It really was very good!!
Vegan Roasted Beet Dip
Sorry no photos at the moment of this delicious dip. I’ll add some in when I make it next. This dip uses roasted beets and garlic along with walnuts, parsley and basil to give a rich, almost creamy tasting dip. Better than any I’ve bought before so will become my go to beet dip recipe. Definitely worth a try.
Pickled Baby Beets
Baby beets are great for this recipe but I found sliced or wedges larger beets worked perfectly too.
You start by slow cooking the beetroot along with garlic ,thyme, rosemary, mustard seeds and fennel seeds for 4 hours. Once cooked you out the beets into jars then pour in a hot vinegar, water and sugar mix to preserve. These pickles are delicious!
Fermented beetroot, orange and ginger
This recipe is fantastic. Really tasty and being fermented it is fantastic for gut health. I’ve added it to coleslaw mixes, in a turkey salad sandwich, along with a hamburger and just as a side itself.
Grate up your beetroot. Add finely grated orange zest and ginger. Mix it all up with salt until a brine is created then pack into jars. This need to ferment for at least 2 weeks for the flavours to develop. See link below for recipe which goes into more detail.
I‘m sure I’ll discover more fantastic beetroot recipes as I go along so hope to keep adding to this list. Please give some of these beetroot ideas a try and let me know what you think when you do.
If you’ve got some great ways to use beetroot not listed here, please share in the comments!!
Enjoy your beetroot!