Beautiful beet: Treat it kindly and the rewards for your health and tastebuds are rich. Picture: Ayala Moriel
Spare a moment to consider – and pity – the poor beet. It has suffered an inglorious fate over the years. Pickled to within an inch of its life, sliced, diced, ruffled then retained in its jar for years on pantry shelves for its annual outing at Christmas.
It’s no wonder that many consider this overlooked but sensational vegetable is due for its moment in the sun. It’s almost as if the beet, or beetroot as it’s also known in some parts, was designed to be loved, despite its humble roots. Its leaves are heart shaped after all, and it leaves the cooks hands a blushing pink if care isn’t taken.
But somehow, somewhere along the way, the beet’s loveable side was ignored, in favour of boiling it to within an inch of its life before sousing it in harsh vinegars or pulverising it into borscht.
Thankfully, the resurgence in the popularity of beets through top chefs such as Gordon Ramsay and Gary Rhodes has meant that keen cooks have taken a fresh look at this humble root.
Take your organically grown beet – and be prepared to be amazed at the choice out there. No longer are you restricted to the familiar, usually dirt-encrusted purple orb. There are fabulous colours, even stripey variants (Chioggia especially), as if specifically created to add interest and flavour to your plate.
Beets are versatile and kind when cooked; they can be peeled, steamed and then eaten warm with butter, or roasted and diced, ready to be added to a simple salad of feta cheese, lentils and lamb’s lettuce. Just remember to keep the skin on if you want to avoid murderous-looking hands when you handle them cooked, or wear gloves.
Health-wise, the beet could be said to have it all.
Since Roman times, it has been used as a treatment for relieving constipation and fevers, as well as giving oomph in the bedroom, too – it is well known as an aphrodisiac thanks to the high levels of boron it contains. Even these days, such is the strength of its health-giving qualities, some believe that beets and other vegetables high in beta-carotene may provide a key in the fight against HIV and other diseases.
In the 19th century, beets were known as “blood turnip”, thanks to the way they would “bleed” after cooking, an irony since research has now shown that beets taken in juice form can help lower blood pressure levels.
For chefs and cooks however, the only thing that matters is the taste – and as long as they are organic and properly prepared (ie, not in a jar, swilling in malt vinegar), many would swear there’s nothing finer to offer as a mash, pureed with a slug of sour cream and some chopped dill, and served with strong game meat, like venison.
It is one of the sweetest of vegetables, complementing in its turn oily fish, such as mackerel, as a side salad, shredded with fennel and cumin seeds.
There will still be those who insist on keeping a jar of pickled beets on standby in their cupboard, next to the dill pickle and mango chutney. But to ignore the possibilities of this colourful, ancient and health-giving little star of the kitchen would be a real crime.
