Admin
Beets are our ruby ​​star.

Tips and recipes with photos.
Material provided by the magazine "Gastronom".

We think it's time to update your ideas about beets. Gastronomically, we are all hostages of tradition to a large extent. But beets are perhaps the most innovative vegetable!

Leaf snack

In my family, beets were cooked in three of the most patriarchal types: borscht, vinaigrette and an appetizer - grated with garlic and prunes. I adore these unpretentious tastes and, without hesitation, continue the tradition. But at some point, my predecessors in the female line stopped blushing beets on their cheeks? (Although, perhaps, they stopped in vain: beet juice refreshes the complexion, and also increases hemoglobin in the blood and therefore restores strength - weakened people are recommended to drink it three times a day before meals.) The history of beets is generally a history of innovation. If at a certain moment someone did not dare to take an unusual step, we would be eating one tops now. However, where does the neglect in the voice come from? Both ordinary beet tops and leaf beet (chard) are a real delicacy, food for those who understand.

Actually, they began to plant the vegetable for the sake of leaves. Then someone tried a root vegetable for a tooth and realized that this would also work. At first, the root was thin, like that of parsley, and only through the efforts of home-grown breeders, the beets turned into these round, semicircular, cylindrical beets - there are no such beets in the wild, so beets are entirely the result of human labor. True, it was a very long time ago: frescoes depicting beets were found even on the walls of the city of Pompeii destroyed by Vesuvius. For example, the leaves were soaked in wine by the ancient Romans and seasoned with pepper.

Today, Swiss chard is served as an exquisite side dish. In Moscow catering, it is poorly represented, and I am always very happy if I see on the menu a baked duck breast with beet leaves and pesto sauce, a soup with the sweet name botvinya or an Ossetian saharajin pie with tops (it is finely chopped, mixed with a lot of cheese and stuffed with this, in the manner of khachapuri, a thin wide pie).

Diet-oriented people also respect chard - it has more fiber than sorrel, watercress or spinach, but its fiber, as stated in one book about weight loss, ranks first in terms of neutralizing effect (fewer calories). Swiss chard is eaten in the same way as spinach: either fresh in salads, or in any stewed or boiled form (stew both by itself and with other vegetables). The French make from it a kind of stuffed cabbage, in the Caucasus they cook amazing phali, the Arabs spice it up with raisins and pine nuts. But I should try to soak it in wine and season it with pepper, what do you think?

We, they and the beets

My foreign friends - all without exception - know one word in Russian: "borscht". Therefore, for them, beets are among the products that represent our tastes on the world stage: together with cottage cheese, black bread and black caviar. Although this moment - why beets are associated specifically with Russian cuisine - is still incomprehensible to me. Beets are unusually good: both for their peculiar, rich sweetish taste, and for the fact that they contain a lot of vitamins - from iodine to the recently discovered vitamin U (helps to heal stomach ulcers). Scientists even argue that beets are a stronger aphrodisiac than oysters or ginger: they contain more boron, which provokes desire hormones in our body.If we consider that all these benefits in beets tend to persist better than in other vegetables, especially if the first frost picks up the fruit, it becomes incomprehensible how practical and health-conscious foreigners can neglect it.

Okay: The Italians have come up with an immortal combination of boiled, diced beetroot and goat cheese. It turns out to be one of the most refined salads in the world - if, moreover, it is supplemented with a dressing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey and pine nuts. But in Italian, as in other European stores, you don't often find freshly picked beets - more and more in jars, pickled, or already peeled, in a vacuum. And she, like a potato, has to do with the skin, and therefore it is advised to cook it in unsalted water, "in a uniform" and with a spine. (By the way, the thinner the tail of the beet, the more ripe it is.)

For example, Koreans, with their characteristic sophistry, eat beets cooked in a decoction of caraway seeds, grated horseradish, with salt and sugar (then the broth is turned into jelly). And it is quite possible that they are the ones responsible for the sauces that go well with this vegetable: for example, orange-lemon-ginger, which is also seasoned with pepper, sugar, apple and honey. However, you don't have to be Korean to feel this: the simplicity of beets is brilliantly set off by tastes like honey, apple and lemon (lemon juice, in particular, helps to maintain its vibrant color).

The Scandinavians, perhaps earlier than us, began to combine beets and herring: to this day, a salad of grated beets, chopped herring, pickled cucumbers, potatoes, carrots, grated horseradish and eggs, seasoned with mayonnaise, is considered a must for any meal.

A vegetarian - this is no matter what nationality - can’t go through life without beets: it is combined with any vegetables (fortified morning salads), with cheese (um, bake!), With dried fruits and nuts, with garlic, with yogurt and cottage cheese, with rice. Not without the participation of the latter, a wonderful stuffed beet is prepared: the core is removed from the boiled fruit and filled with rice pulp, flavored with apple pieces, butter and sugar. Or - pear, tomatoes and horseradish. Then pour everything with sour cream and bake. (But if the principles allow you to try a beetroot-crispy bacon combination, don't take away the fun ...)

However, let us return to the Slavs: borscht made beets famous throughout the world. The most surprising thing in the history of "red" soup is that there are about as many variants of it as there are housewives: I, in any case, did not have to try two identical borscht. It is a well-known fact that only in Ukraine (although borscht is considered a national dish in Russia, Belarus, Poland, Romania and Lithuania, Ukraine can still be called the copyright holder) about forty varieties. These forty recipes have dozens of items: the basis of the soup, the ingredients (from mushrooms and beans to zucchini and turnips), the method of cutting vegetables (into strips, cubes, slices, finely, coarsely, whole), additional components, on a separate plate - donuts, dumplings, pancakes, millet or buckwheat porridge ("today we have married borsch"). And, perhaps, the most important thing is the moment of laying beets. In our family, it comes when all other vegetables have already slightly boiled: beets, chopped and fried separately with garlic and herbs, are added to vegetable soup; in an instant it becomes ruby ​​red - and turns into borscht. You can add cabbage and chopped herbs a little later.

Out of season

As you know, in most dishes, beets are sent ready-made. Meanwhile, not everyone knows that beets for vinaigrette, herring "under a fur coat", salads and side dishes are best not boiled, but baked in the oven: then it retains a richer color and taste, turns out less watery and remains very useful. This process is also slow - the stubborn vegetable is baked for at least an hour. Remember to cover it with foil to reduce evaporation. And, by the way, it will be tastier if baked in olive oil, salt and pepper.

And then you can cook anything from this beet: from carpaccio (two of its tricks are to cut into thin slices and make a good dressing), from exotic salads, in which our simple Russian root vegetable sounds in a new way in combination with grapefruit pulp and, for example , avocado, to beetroot mashed potatoes with lamb shank with rosemary or even dessert. For example, beet cakes are made: grated beets are mixed with cream, cottage cheese, eggs, dried fruits and nuts are added, and then baked and served hot with sweet sour cream sauce. If you are lazy, then you can bake beets with cheese, garlic and mayonnaise - and serve an unusual side dish with meat or fish.

We still have to live and live with beets - after all, it does not leave us with the arrival of cold weather. Until then, in September, you can celebrate the last warm days with cold soups - perhaps a signature beetroot dish. Cooking beetroot (khlodnik, beetroot okroshka, botvinia) is as easy as shelling pears baked or boiled with the tops, cut a cucumber, steep egg, radish, chop dill, pour beet broth (or yogurt), salt, add lemon juice Those who wish can endlessly complicate the recipe by fermenting the beet broth with bread kvass, adding nettles and quinoa, various vegetables or even, as Pokhlebkin advises, red fish. In general, as in all other cases, you can fantasize endlessly, leaving the only ingredient unchanged. After all, remove the beets from any of the above dishes - and absolutely nothing will come of it.
Admin

Orange salad, 4 servings

What do you need:
3 large beets,
2 tbsp. l. buckwheat honey
2 tbsp. l. cognac,
1 glass of orange juice
1 orange,
a handful of pine nuts,
salt to taste
a pinch of pink pepper.

What to do:
Wrap each beet tightly in foil and bake in an oven preheated to 200 C for 40-50 min. Put the finished beets under cold water and immediately remove the skins. Cool and cut into thin slices. Prepare the sauce: wipe the zest from the orange; pour orange juice into a saucepan, put half of the zest, bring to a boil, add honey and cognac. While stirring, cook in half. At the very end, add the remaining zest and mashed pink pepper. Pour hot dressing over beets and cool. Fry pine nuts in a dry frying pan, shaking, 1 min. In an orange, cut off the peel along with the white film so that the pulp is visible. Use a sharp knife to cut the fillet into slices; cut each wedge into 3 pieces. Add the orange to the beets, stir, sprinkle with pine nuts and serve immediately.

Penne with beetroot sauce, 4 servings

What do you need:
500 g penne,
2 large beets,
a handful of walnuts,
2 tbsp. l. dry white wine
0.5 cups extra virgin olive oil
150 g feta cheese,
2 cloves of garlic
medium bunch of basil,
salt and freshly ground black,
pepper to taste.

What to do:
Wrap each beet tightly in foil and bake in an oven preheated to 200 C for 40-50 min. Put the finished beets under cold water and immediately remove the skins. Cool and cut into very small cubes. Remove the stems from the basil, chop the leaves, put in a blender with chopped garlic and nuts, add white wine, oil and punch until puree. Mix this puree with the beets. Boil the penne in a large amount of salted boiling water according to the instructions on the package, put it in a colander, put on plates. Top with beets with nuts and sprinkle with crumbled cheese.
Crochet
Admin, I read all the material with pleasure, thank you. And in general I love raw beets (wash, peel and no more), my family looks at me with incomprehension ... But it tastes good to me, and that's it ...
Tanyusha
Admin thanks very interesting. I also make a salad of fresh beets, carrots and apples (preferably Antonovka), season with a little mayonnaise, it turns out delicious, but I do it only for myself, they don't eat it at home.
Admin
Thank you!

Beets are not always loved, especially raw.And the set of dishes from it is usually limited to simple boiling.

Suggest your versions of various dishes, beetroot salads.
Your fantasies are limitless!
Alexandra
And again useful and interesting material, Admin

Unfortunately, cooked beets, carrots and pumpkin are not suitable for dietary nutrition, as their GI increases significantly.

But raw - great, both solo and in combinations
Only without mayonnaise. As a last resort, free your own fat-free (gave in Temka about healthy eating)

and of course, beetroot-chard salads are the best
dopleta
Flame of Paris salad

In the center of a large dish, a slide of fried potatoes is laid out in small cubes, and around five equal-sized slides we put raw grated beets, finely chopped onions, raw grated carrots, fried mushrooms and chopped fresh cabbage. Serve on the table and pour with your favorite dressing already there and mix. Tasty, healthy and effective.
Alexandra
dopleta,

I also met the version with meat, fried in strips. And all this beauty was showered with pomegranate seeds
Wolchebnica
Beets under a cheese coat
Beets are our ruby ​​star (material, recipes)

We take 2-3 pieces. beets, boil, cool. Three on a coarse grater, season with mayonnaise and garlic. Sprinkle with finely grated cheese on top. Simple and delicious !!!
For those who do not like garlic, you can add nuts, and replace mayonnaise with sour cream.
Wolchebnica
"Autumn" vitamin salad.
Beets are our ruby ​​star (material, recipes)


Take white cabbage, 1/2 part of a small head of cabbage. Cut into strips.
Carrot 1 pc. big. Three on a coarse grater.
Beet 1 pc. average. Three on a coarse grater.
All vegetables are fresh, not boiled.
Garlic 2-3 cloves.
Beetroot is our ruby ​​star (material, recipes)
Now we mix all the vegetables, preferably with our hands, crushing a little, so that they give juice.
Beetroot is our ruby ​​star (material, recipes)
Add salt, a little sugar, lemon juice. You can fill it with both mayonnaise and butter. I have a variant with mayonnaise. Salad ready. Bon Appetit.

Salad not seasoned with mayonnaise can be stored in the refrigerator. I immediately make a large portion of salad, put it in jars, close with lids.
bendim
And I add onion, pickled cucumber to vegetables, and season with tomato juice with "odorous" vegetable oil. This is also very
Wolchebnica
bendim interesting, let's try to make a salad according to your recipe
sweetka
when I was about five years old, my grandma baked a beet in the stove. and I ate it with some buns, a little salt and a drop of fragrant sunflower oil. such a beaten hot dog. I just ate it in kilograms! that was the rural dessert.
Stern
The sauce is mine, the idea to pour them the beets belongs to Luchok.

Beetroot salad with "Ukrainian style satsivi" sauce

500 g of ready-made beets (bake beets in the oven or steam them)
Sauce:
125 gr sour cream
125 gr mayonnaise
3 cloves of garlic
75 gr shelled walnuts
salt, pepper, parsley or cilantro
seasoning "khmeli-suneli" (optional)

Be sure to fry the nuts in a dry frying pan, cool, remove the film without fanaticism.
Chop nuts and garlic with a blender or mince.
In a bowl, mix sour cream and mayonnaise, add the garlic-nut mass, stir well. Season with salt, pepper to taste, add finely chopped parsley or cilantro, "hop-suneli" seasoning.

Grate the beets on a coarse grater or cut into very thin strips, season with sauce, mix, let it brew in the refrigerator.

Beets are our ruby ​​star (material, recipes)

Iskatel-X
Baked beets have a bright, rich color and retain a maximum of vitamins.
Wrap each beet tightly in foil and bake in an oven preheated to 200 * C for 40-50 min. Put the finished beets under cold water and immediately remove the skins. Cool down.

I also found another recommendation on the Internet:
Wash the beets, wrap in foil and bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 50-60 minutes.
Less degrees means more time.

Which is more correct / useful? Why?
Thank you

PS On steam in a multicooker - much faster, however:
Steamed beets in a multicooker are less bright in color, since some of the juice will go into the water, but will remain the same tasty and healthy.
I will bake.
Admin
It is more useful to bake in a gentle mode, at a low temperature. And at low temperatures, it takes longer to cook.
With a gentle mode and in the peel, vitamins are better preserved, the juice does not flow out of the vegetable when baked.
And wrap it in foil to keep more heat.

It is good to boil beets in a double boiler. To prevent the juice from leaking out, cut into pieces and put in foil, the juice will not run away anywhere, it will remain in the foil. Today I steamed the beets myself. The color is preserved perfectly! And the time is not long!
Iskatel-X
It is good to boil beets in a double boiler. To prevent the juice from leaking out, cut into pieces and put in foil, the juice will not run away anywhere, it will remain in the foil.
Beets - steamed, under pressure. I read about the benefits of baking, I decided to deepen my knowledge.
While I was typing a detailed question about a double boiler, you answered.
Please specify - in foil for steam - the same amount of time as without foil?
According to the recipes, now I will "walk".
Thank you.
crane
Quote: Wolchebnica
Take white cabbage, 1/2 part of a small head of cabbage. Cut into strips.
Carrot 1 pc. big. Three on a coarse grater.
Beet 1 pc. average. Three on a coarse grater.
All vegetables are fresh, not boiled.
Garlic 2-3 cloves.
Wolchebnica, Thank you Svetlana, we were looking for this recipe with the whole office "Vitaminka" prepared a dining room nearby and did not give out proportions
Albina
Beets are a wonderful food. I love borscht very much. But in recent years, I noticed that beets have become less tasty. Maybe we were fed more imported? Or other varieties of beets began to sow.
Zoya
We love beets very much with the whole family. Moreover, in any form. If fresh, then three beets and carrots on the thinnest Berner grater and add finely chopped cabbage. Any dressing - from yogurt, sour cream and mayonnaise to vegetable oil. And, yes, more garlic.
And we prefer to cook in a microwave oven in a regular plastic bag with a couple of tablespoons of water. 2 large beets are cooked in 20 minutes. It turns out like baked - sweet, juicy, tasty.
A very tasty salad is obtained from beets and carrots fried in vegetable oil in equal proportions (three on a medium Berner grater). Before putting them in a frying pan, fry one onion until half cooked. I have not yet met those who would not like this salad. Even beetroot lovers eat. But you need not put out, namely fry. I understand that there are few useful substances, but sometimes we do this, because very good. delicious. And, most importantly, very good. simply.
Admin
Quote: Iskatel-X
Please specify - in foil for steam - the same amount of time as without foil?

If in thin strips or pieces, then 20 minutes will be enough. The halves will last longer.
I never know the time - I opened the lid and pierced it with a knitting needle or a narrow knife, and it was immediately clear whether it was ready or still to hold.
I didn't steam whole beets for a very long time. Such beets must be cooked entirely in a pressure cooker or baked in foil in the oven - it takes about an hour. And also check the readiness with a knitting needle.

The most delicious and healthy beets will be obtained when baked in the oven in foil, whole in a peel Preserves all the vitamins and sugars that it contains
zaraza
Take raw beets, pierce as often as possible over the entire surface with a knitting needle or knife. Put it in a baking bag, tie it, make holes in it (or cut) 2-3 times and in the microwave. At maximum power, medium-10 minutes, high-15-20 minutes. When the microwave stops working without opening the door, leave the beets to rest there. Then you take it out, clean it, and eat it. Taste as if baked in the oven.

All recipes

© Mcooker: Best Recipes.

map of site

We advise you to read:

Selection and operation of bread makers