2012 Ingredient of the Week 13: Turnip, Swedes & Beets

The Hill Billy

Hi All:

This week's ingredients are Turnip, Swedes & Beets.

Let's be having your recipes...

tHB

The Hill Billy

Ingredients
2 large beetroots - approx 500g (peeled & cut into batons)
1 medium onion (halved & finely sliced)
½ tsp mustard seeds
5 or 6 curry leaves
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chilli powder
splash of vegetable oil
2 or 3 tbsp sour cream

Method
Add the beetroot batons to a pot of boiling water & cook for 3 to 4 minutes on a rolling boil. Remove from the water & drain well.
In a pan, heat vegetable oil and add mustard seeds & curry leaves.
When the seeds start popping add the onions & fry until translucent.
Add the remaining spices & fry for a further 2 or 3 minutes.
Now add the drained beetroot & continue to cook over a medium heat.
If the pan becomes to dry add a tbsp or 2 of water.
Continue cooking until the beetroot is tender, the remove from heat & add the sour cream & mix well.

This is a lovely side dish for especially suited to strong lamb curries. You can of course adjust the spices to suit your taste.

Dizzyblonde

I grow beetroot in the garden every year and make beetroot chutney with it. I have a couple of jars stashed for Christmas. I've posted the recipe before on Boards but here it is again in case anyone wants it.
Ingredients:
3 Ibs beetroot
1 large onion
1 large cooking apple
12ozs sugar
2tspns ground ginger
1 level tspn salt
1 pint vinegar
Method:
Wash and dry the beetroot but leave the skin on. Place in a roasting tin, drizzle with olive oil and roast for 40-50 minutes at 180C until it's tender. Let it cool then peel and dice it.
Dice the onion
Peel and dice the apple
Put into large pan and add sugar, salt, ginger and vinegar.
Bring to the boil and simmer, uncovered, until ingredients are soft - usually 40 minutes to an hour
Fill sterilised jars while warm.

Merkin

Beetroot cake is absolutely delicious and very easy to make. Here's a recipe for Beetroot Chocolate Fudge Cake....I defy anyone to not fall in love with it

For the cake

• 250g good-quality dark chocolate
• 3 medium free-range eggs
• 250g light muscovado sugar
• 1 vanilla pod, cut in half lengthways and seeds scraped out
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp clear honey
• 40g self-raising flour
• 40g plain flour
• ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 25g cocoa powder
• 50g ground almonds
• 250g raw beetroot, peeled and finely grated
• 100ml strong black coffee
• 30ml sunflower oil

For the topping

• 150g good-quality dark chocolate
• 3 tbsp strong black coffee
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 3 tbsp clear honey

Method

1. Preheat a conventional oven to 160ºC, or a fan-assisted one to 140ºC. With the help of a brush and a tiny bit of sunflower oil, grease the surface of a round 20cm diameter by 8cm high loose-bottomed tin and set aside.
2. Melt the chocolate gently in a bowl over a pan of simmering water until all dissolved, then set aside to cool.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar, the scraped-out vanilla seeds, the maple syrup and the honey for three minutes with an electric hand whisk until pale and quite fluffy.
4. Gently fold in the flours, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cocoa and ground almonds until fully incorporated.
5. Using some kitchen paper, dab the grated beetroot thoroughly to remove some of the excess moisture. Fold in the beetroot, cooled chocolate, coffee and oil with the help of a spatula until thoroughly mixed together.
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and cook in the middle of the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes. After this time, cover the cake with foil and bake for another 30 minutes.
7. Test the cake by inserting a skewer into the centre to see if it comes out clean (although this cake is so moist that even when the cake is fully cooked, the skewer comes out looking slightly messy). Leave to cool on a wire rack.
8. To make the fudge topping, melt the chocolate gently in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, then remove from the heat and add the coffee and the vanilla essence.
9. At this stage the chocolate will seize up slightly, but it will relax back once you add the honey and gently mix in.
10. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes before icing the cake. Cut the cake through the middle and ice it in the centre and on all sides.
11. Decorate the top with whatever you fancy, but I like using pink flowers, such as tulips or roses, which I plant into the cake with a bit of stem left on.

nompere

I made this for a dinner party where there were vegetarians as well as omnivores. I enjoyed the remains over the following couple of days.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1111644/beet-and-caramelised-onion-tart

After reading the comments, I made sure to dry the beetroot as much as I could. I destroyed the tea towel I rolled the shreds in and wrung out, but I didn't have a problem with too much moisture. No soggy bottom for me!

I never find 15 to 20 minutes to start browning onions is enough - they're still steaming at that stage. I usually find about 30 to 40 minutes of gentle cooking gets them to the right stage. Going too fast risks burning them, and then they taste bitter.

The pastry, with the oats and carrots in it, was delicious.

BailMeOut

Irish local turnips right around now are absolutely delicious. Not much of a recipe I know but they are so sweet and so so tasty at the moment that all I have been doing is.....

Peel Turnip
Cut into oxo cube size cubes
Boil in well seasoned water for 25/30 mins
Strain
Mash with butter, salt, lots of freshly ground pepper some fresh ground nutmeg.