Three beetroot recipes

Rank kitchen

The roots simmered for barely 20 minutes so that they were tender and firm at the same time. I ran them under cold water for a few moments to peel them, rubbing them gently between my hands. Then I cut the beets into cubes and sent them into the bowl to join the diced apples, which were macerating in a creamy sauce made of mayonnaise diluted with apple juice and tarragon-flavored vinegar. I stir gently, arrange the salad on a bed of chopped Boston lettuce hearts, top with slivers of Elizabeth blue cheese, and cover everything with toasted walnuts, still warm, and finally, I sprinkle with a shower of chopped parsley. After a brief contemplation of the work, I savor. Each bite gives a presence in time and space to the atoms, cells, and molecules of which I am composed. My taste buds, which exult with each bite, communicate to my being both a celestial lightness and a deep anchoring to telluric energies, a mauve karma enhanced with blue, of Elizabeth to boot, oh my beloved queen. Well-being is then perceived by the digestive organs, which appreciate the softening and alkalizing properties of beetroot.

There are dozens of cultivars of garden beets in various shapes and colors on the market. I particularly like the Golden with its yellow flesh, the Chioggia with its alternating pale and dark circles, the dark red Detroit , and the Lutz , a large, purplish, almost blue storage beet. All these beets are sown directly in the ground in spring, in May or June. The young foliage can be eaten like spinach. The roots can be eaten throughout the summer. Once ripe, they can be stored for many months in a cold room. Raw, it offers the maximum of its nutritional value. But it is cooked and softened, peeled and served in slices while still warm with a knob of butter, salt, and pepper that it fully reveals its lascivious nature. For the holiday season, I offer you three recipes featuring beets, including this beetroot, apple, blue cheese and walnut salad, which looks great on the holiday menu, which I hope will be blue and mauve, ethical and reassuring.

Beetroot, Apple and Walnut Salad with Elizabeth Blue Cheese (8 servings)

Ingredients

• 8 medium beets, cooked, peeled and cut into small cubes
• 2 apples, diced
• 60 ml of mayonnaise
• 30 ml of apple juice
• 15 ml of flavored vinegar
• A hint of chopped rosemary
• 60 ml of walnuts
• 60 to 120 ml of Elizabeth blue cheese
• Pepper to taste
• Chopped parsley for decoration

Preparation

Prepare the sauce by combining the apple juice, mayonnaise, vinegar, finely chopped rosemary, and pepper. Add the apple and beetroot cubes and let marinate for a few hours. Serve on a bed of Boston lettuce. Garnish with blue cheese shards, warm toasted walnuts, and a sprinkling of chopped parsley.

Variants

You can replace the blue cheese with goat or sheep cheese, the walnuts with pecans or hazelnuts, the rosemary with thyme or savory, and the parsley with chopped green onions.

Yellow Beetroot Salad with Orange (8 servings)

Ingredients

• 8 medium-sized yellow beets, cooked, peeled and sliced
• 240 ml orange juice
• 60 ml of flavored vinegar
• 30 ml of homemade mayonnaise
• 5 ml of curry
• 5 ml ground cumin seeds
• Salt, pepper to taste
• Chopped fresh coriander for decoration

Preparation

Combine the orange juice, vinegar, and herbs and marinate the beetroot slices for 12 hours. Serve on a bed of greens or grated carrots. Thicken the remaining liquid with homemade mayonnaise, then drizzle it over the beets. Garnish with orange slices and chopped cilantro.

Beetroot and Ginger Vegetable Terrine (12 to 16 servings)

In winter, you never get tired of a sandwich made with wholemeal bread, vegetable terrine, homemade mayonnaise, a thin slice of sweet onion, dill pickles and greens.

Ingredients

• 480 ml sunflower seeds
• 1 large onion
• 1 potato
• 1 beetroot
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 120 ml of wheat flour
• 120 ml vegetable oil
• 180 ml of water
• 5 ml of thyme
• 5 ml garam masala
• 10 ml finely grated ginger
• 5 ml of salt
• Pepper to taste

Preparation

Grind the sunflower seeds. Finely grate the vegetables. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and pour into a greased Pyrex dish (21.5 x 11.5 x 7 cm). Bake for 45 minutes at 180°C.

Variants

Replace ginger and garam masala with garlic and rosemary.

Yves Gagnon, author and seed producer