Food & Drink
Beet It!
BY DANA YOUNG
Winter 2010 |
What's in a name? Lots if your name is beets. Who wants to eat something that sounds violent and competitive?
If the fushia fibrous roots were called hearts or rosettes, people would stop making faces at them. They would quickly jump on the beet bandwagon.
Beets are good for you. The juice is rich in natural sugar, sodium, sulphur, chlorine, iodine, copper and vitamin B1, B2, C and bioflavonoids. Some holistic practitioners believe that beet juice combined with other juices like carrot and cucumber can be used for cleansing the kidneys and gallbladder and for restoring health to these organs.
Eating beets are excellent for eliminating constipation. The fiber adds bulk to the diet and helps to improve peristalsis activity in the large intestine.
Canadians of Polish, Ukrainian and Russian heritage have long known nothing beats beets. Borsch, a deep red beet and cabbage soup, is a staple of their diet.
It is time the rest of us gave beets a chance.
Borcht
This classic whole-meal soup is a real celebration of Ontario's vegetable harvest. For a true vegetarian version, you can use oil instead of butter and skip the sour cream garnish. Speed up the chopping and shredding time by using a food processor.
Preparation Time: 20 Minutes
Cooking Time: 35 Minutes
Servings: 8 to 10
Ingredients:
2 tbsp (25 mL) butter
6 Ontario Beets, peeled and shredded
4 Ontario Leeks, chopped
2 cups (500 mL) sliced Ontario Mushrooms
2 Ontario Carrots, shredded
2 cloves Ontario Garlic, minced
1 Ontario Onion, chopped
1 Ontario White Turnip, peeled and shredded
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 Ontario Potato, peeled and chopped
2 bay leaves
7 cups (1.75 L) beef or vegetable broth
2 tbsp (25 mL) tomato paste
2 cups (500 mL) shredded Ontario Cabbage
1 can (19 oz/540 mL) white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3 tbsp (50 mL) red wine vinegar
1 tsp (5 mL) granulated sugar
Salt and pepper
Sour cream and snipped chives or green onion tops
Preparation:
In large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add beets, leeks, mushrooms, carrots, garlic, onion, white turnip, celery, potato and bay leaves; cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
Stir in broth and tomato paste. Bring to simmer and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Stir in cabbage and beans; cook for 5 minutes.
Season with vinegar, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste, adding more vinegar and sugar if needed. (There should be a nice sweet and sour balance.) Discard bay leaves. Place dollop of sour cream and sprinkle of chives on each serving.
TIP: This soup freezes well, so double the batch and freeze for later use.
Foodland Ontario
Beet Hummus
(From Simply Recipes)
1/2 pound beets (about 4 medium sized beets), scrubbed clean, cooked, peeled, and cubed*
2 Tbsp tahini sesame seed paste
5 Tbsp lemon juice
1 small clove garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp lemon zest (zest from approx. 2 lemons)
Generous pinch of sea salt or Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste
*To cook the beets, cut off any tops, scrub the roots clean, put them in a covered dish with about 1/4-inch of water in a 375°F oven, and cook until easily penetrated with a knife or fork. Alternatively, cover with water in a saucepan and simmer until tender, about 1/2 hour. Peel once they have cooled.
Method
Place all ingredients in a food processor (or blender) and pulse until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings and ingredients as desired.
Chill and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for longer storage.
Eat with pita chips, or with sliced cucumber or celery, or on a crostini with goat cheese and shaved mint.
Makes 2 cups.
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