Cooking with beetroot
Natural cooked beetroot (vacuum packed) can be heated in the bag – either add to boiling water & simmer for 15 minutes, or pierce the top of the bag a couple of times and microwave (3½ mins at 650w or 3mins at 750w). Leave to cool for 1 minute before opening carefully.
Don’t get caught red handed!
Buying ready cooked beetroot is the easiest way to avoid all the mess of preparing raw beetroot and it will also save you time. There are plenty of different varieties to try:
Natural cooked beetroot
Freshly cooked in its own juices and vacuum-packed for freshness, this ready to eat beetroot has no additives. Use in any recipes that calls for raw beetroot and reduce the cooking time accordingly.
Traditional cooked beetroot
Whole ruby beetroot, freshly cooked and dipped in mild malt vinegar or acetic acid – a subtle sweet flavour with mild acidic notes. This ready to eat beetroot is ideal served with cold meats and salads or to give a twist to the traditional Ploughman’s.
Sweetfire® Beetroot
Ruby red baby beetroot, freshly cooked and infused with Sweetfire® marinade which adds a delicious kick to salads and spices up cold meats and sandwiches.
Sweetfire® is a natural marinade made using chillis, oil, a little sugar, and white wine vinegar to give the beetroot a delicious sweet and sour flavour. The chilli used is the variety ‘Pungent’, selected for its high levels of capsaicin (the chemical that gives chillis their heat).
Available from Tescos and Waitrose
Cocktail beetroot with juniper berry and black pepper
Cooked beetroot dipped in mild malt vinegar with juniper berry and black pepper, making it a perfect accompaniment to cold red meats and game dishes.
Available from Sainsbury’s & Morrisons
Cocktail beetroot
Cooked cocktail beetroots in a delicious marinade. Varieties available: Balsamic & White Wine Vinegars (Tesco); Rosebud Beetroot in Balsamic Vinegar, Honey & Red Wine Vinegar (M&S) delicious in salads and with mild cheeses; Honey & Ginger (ASDA) to spice up your salads, and Raspberry & Mint (ASDA).
Preparing and cooking from raw
Raw beetroot can be peeled and grated to add a sweet flavour and great colour to salads, or try juicing it with other vegetables such as carrots and celery. Use gloves or a plastic sandwich bag to hold beetroot when grating it to avoid pink fingers!
To cook beetroot from raw: Don't peel or cut it, or the colour (and nutrients) will leach out. Gently scrub the beets to clean thoroughly, and twist off the green tops.
- To roast: Small to medium beets can be roasted whole, or cut into quarters. Pre-boil for 15-20 minutes, drain and place in a roasting tin. Lightly coat with oil and seasoning and roast at 180C/360F/Gas 4 for 40-45 minutes (timing will vary depending on the size of the beets).
- To boil: put beetroot in a pan of water, bring to the boil and heat for 40 - 45 minutes. Beetroot is naturally quite high in sodium so you don’t need to add salt.
- To bake: preheat oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3. Put the whole beets into a baking dish, cover with foil and cook for 1-2 hours (depending on the size of the beets). Leave till cool enough to handle, and remove the skins - they should slip off easily.
To clean up beetroot stains
Beetroot is a water-soluble dye; try one of these methods to clean up stains:
- To remove from hands, rub with lemon juice and salt before washing with soap and water
- On fabrics, rub a slice of raw pear on the stain before washing or rinse in cold water before washing in a biological powder
- Use a bleach solution for cutting boards and containers.
