Beetroot beatitudes

The beetroot is a nutritional powerhouse that has been much neglected and Pauline D Loh looks at some special ways of cooking and eating this blood-red root vegetable.

My first meeting with a beetroot slice was in-between thick layers of fatty beef in a hamburger. While most of us are familiar with a certain country's fascination with the yeast extract called Vegemite, there is another culinary peculiarity Down Under that is a lot less publicized - they love a slice of pickled beetroot in their hamburger. It can be rather alarming to bite into a succulent slice unaware. Murphy's Law usually dictates you'll be wearing a brand new white shirt and the juices trickling down the front will make you look like the victim of a rather messy accident.

But once you are warned, and armed, the beetroot loses its advantage of surprise and settles down to being more of an ingredient that baffles many cooks.

In the West, beetroots are eaten raw, or boiled or baked. It needs careful handling either way as it happily and profusely bleeds crimson juices, staining anything that comes into contact with an indelible pink. Western cooks actually add vinegar to their beets to "set" the color and prevent it from spreading too much.

However, you'll probably still be cleaning up patches of pink from your kitchen counter after cooking beetroot. It also stains all your white dish clothes a rather becoming shade of magenta.

One of the most common ways of eating beetroot is to cook it in a vegetable soup called borscht, an Eastern European recipe that has numerous versions spread across Russia and most of continental Europe.

Sometimes a beef broth is the base, but more often than not, it is a vegetable soup using lots of tubers.

During a recent visit to Australia, I was also introduced to a beetroot relish, a sweet and sour sour pickle that was being served with cold cuts, hot meat dishes and yes hamburgers.

I found it very pleasant and started experimenting with my own version after I came home. I reckon something so delicious and good for you deserves its place on the plate for all to see, instead of being hidden between buns.

Because, of course, the beetroot is packed with antioxidants and nutrients.

It is a good source of Vitamin C, and rich in magnesium, sodium and potassium. Beetroot contains betaine, an essential element that acts with other nutrients to prevent the hardening of arteries, it is believed to protect the liver and reduce the effects of fatty liver caused by alcohol abuse, protein deficiency and diabetes.

Its juice relieves hypertension, and also increases stamina in athletes, according to recent studies. But unlike common belief, the beetroot does nothing to cure anemia, even if it is blood-red, because it does not contain any iron.

In China, beets are grown in the cooler northern regions, and coming into season just about now. It is not a very common vegetable and my mother-in-law's ayi tells me they eat it raw in her village, and also pickled in vinegar.

It all sounds strangely familiar, but here are a few of my own favorites. The borscht recipe came from my cousin Flora in Melbourne, who was married to a Polish Australian. She said this was her mother-in-law's recipe carefully brought over from the homeland.

The beetroot relish is my own concoction, in an attempt to recreate the flavors that so enchanted me in the Fleurieu Peninsula of South Australia.

The last recipe is my surprise for the day, a chocolate cake recipe with lots of beetroot in it. The adventurous bakers among you must try this. It is not as mad as it sounds because the beetroot sweetens the cake and adds an earthy note to the chocolate flavor. And remember, it's nutritious and good for you!

Recipe | Beetroot relish

Ingredients:

2 beetroot (about 1 kg), boiled, peeled and roughly grated

Zest and juice of 2 oranges

1 tbsp grated ginger

1 cup brown sugar

Method:

1. Place orange zest, brown sugar and orange juice in a large enamel pan and cook over medium heat until bubbling.

2. Add grated ginger and grated beetroot. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, and lower to a simmer and gently cook until beetroot is soft, and the mixture thickens.

3. Let cool completely before bottling the relish. Keeps two weeks chilled in the refrigerator.

Food notes:

This is sweet, spicy relish that perks up any rich meat dish. Adds a pretty color to the plate as well. Serve with pork chops, grilled chicken or as a side for a savory grilled cheese sandwich.

Recipe

Ingredients:

1 large beetroot (about 250 g), peeled and finely diced

1 carrot, peeled and finely diced

1 small potato, peeled and finely diced

1 spring onion, chopped

1.5 liter vegetable stock

2 tsp dark vinegar

1 tsp sugar

Pepper and salt to taste

Sour cream or thick yoghurt to garnish

Method:

1. Heat some oil in pan and saut the spring onions until they soften. Add diced potatoes and carrots and finally, the beetroot.

2. Add the vegetable stock and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about half an hour to 45 minutes until vegetables are tender.

3. Season with salt and pepper and just before serving, stir in the vinegar and sugar.

4. Serve with sour cream/yoghurt.

Food notes:

This is Russian or beetroot Borscht, a soup that sits on the stove all year round in traditional Eastern European homes. It is very good for warming up a cold evening, but it is just as good served cold on summer days with a swirl of sour cream.

Recipe

Ingredients:

1 large beetroot (about 200 g), peeled and roughly chopped

200 g plain flour

100 g cocoa powder

1 tbsp baking powder

250 g soft brown sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

200 ml vegetable oil

100 g peanut butter chips

Chocolate ganache:

200 g dark chocolate

200 ml double cream

Method:

1. Sift flour, baking powder and cocoa powder together with a small pinch of salt.

2. Beat eggs and sugar together, and slowly add the oil to form an emulsion.

3. Add the flour and mix on low speed until batter is smooth. Stir in the beetroot and finally fold in the peanut butter chips.

4. Place in a large loaf pan or divide into cupcake/muffin pans and bake in a preheated 180 deg C oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool completely.

5. While cake cools, prepare ganache by combining the dark chocolate and cream in a non-stick pan. Stir over gentle heat until chocolate melts. Remove from heat and continue stirring. Cool and pour on top of cooled cake.

Food notes:

This is like a luxurious cake that actually is very healthy. If you skip the peanut butter chips, you save even more calories. The beetroot also gives the chocolate cake a deep tinge of red that is very attractive. Icing the top with an easy chocolate ganache is just gilding the lily.