Beetroot and Blackberry salad

This time of year in Connemara, the hedgerow briars come forward with a luscious crop of blackberries - but blackcurrants work equally well.

We see fig, orange and pomegranate based salads on TV but our own homegrown earthy sweet of beetroot and the zesty sweetness of foraged fruit sing of late summer and early autumn.

It is a great seasonal treat, and you really don't have to forage all that many - its only 200 grams, about a tea mug full.

As an unusual but the delicious combo I would go so far as to call it an almost exotic dish from a small garden plot.

and yet the food miles are minimal for most home gardeners as most of us have a few beets and an onion somewhere in the beet patch.

Great as an appetizer but really, really, really good with cold roast duck, pork or game.
Also, if you freeze a few blackberries now and store some beets, its great with cold turkey just after Christmas.

Iphone pic - slight variation using strawberries and loganberry-applevinegar

INGREDIENTS
1 bunch baby beetroot.
About 200 grams of blackberries or blackcurrants.
Half a small red onion, diced or very finely sliced.
Tablespoon honey - local if you can find it (or caster sugar if you like)
Beet leaves, Bay leaf or mint to garnish

Lightly scrub the beets, remove the leaves - they can be used as a garnish
Boil the beets in lightly salted water

Rinse your blackberries
Melt the honey down in about a tablespoon of water
Gently warm the blackberries in the warmed honey-water until they start to release their colour and soften.

Don't stir the pan, just shake it to avoid crushing the fruit.

Add a little more water by the tablespoon if required, you are looking to create a very light syrup.

When the beets are cooked, drain them and slip the skins off as soon as they are cool enough to handle.

Slice into the beets into rings and arrange on a shallow plat.
Sprinkle over the onions and season to taste.

Spoon over the fruits with a slotted spoon and reduce the syrup a little further.

Pour over the syrup and leave the  dish to cool

Serve with cold game or pork, and maybe use the beet leaves as a garnish.
And as I said before, it makes a great post Christmas accompaniment to turkey or ham

Comments are, as always, most welcome - photos will follow, but it may take a while, left camera with pics at home without downloading them - if someone wants to send some in please feel free to do so.

ADDENDUM SEPTEMBER 2012
These pictures were taken in Holland, a slight variation on the original. I used strawberries - and instead of water, I used a lovely Swedish vinegar - lingonberry and apple cider vinegar - available at Ikea - but it does demonstrate the colours you can expect. There are other fruit vinegars more available in Ireland. Experiment with what fruit you can grow or forage.

Enjoy!

Beetroot Timbales with a cool yogurt dressing

This is a great two for one - Beetroot is a great veg which, like turnip, can be harvested for leaves and the root.
The notion that beetroot takes hours to cook is an exaggeration.
Small summer beets need about 20 minutes.
Large late season beets take correspondingly longer, but only 10 -15 minutes.
Simply by dicing them and fast boiling in a little salty water cooks them in no time at all - yes they will bleed, but after 15 minutes they will be as tender and beetrooty as you wish, with all the colour and flavour.

Combining beetroot with fennel and lemon in this dish gives great contrast and taste.
It's a great, cool, fresh 
The use of Carragheen or Agar-Agar with veg stock makes this suitable for vegetarians but you can if you wish of course use meat stock and gelatin - but I prefer the freshness of the veg stock and seaweed combo.

This is served normally served with a little sour cream - but I find a simple sweet spinach raita to balance the earthy sweetness of the beetroot - or a standard cucumber, chive, mint and yogurt raita, the classic Indian condiment.

INGREDIENTS
for the timbale:
175g cooked beetroot (retain the leaves)
1/2 Tsp or more of Fennel seeds
1 tsp of squeezed lemon
250ml stock*
Good sprig carragheen.

* When I say veg stock, do use the cooking liquid of the beetroot as a base and make up a simple stock.

For the Raita:
200ml / 7fl oz. Glenisk natural yogurt
About 15 small spinach leaves
12-15 raisins - roughly chopped
Pinch of Paprika, cumin, salt and pepper.

METHOD
FOR THE RAITA
Cut the spinach into fine strips
Blanch in boiling water
Drain and whisk into the yogurt
Add the raisins, seasonings and spices and mix in well
Serve chilled.

FOR THE TIMBALE
Bruise the fennel seeds with a mortar and pestle or the back of a spoon to release their full aroma and steep in the stock.
Add the carragheen and bring slowly to the boil
Reduce and simmer with the lid on for about 10 minutes stirring now and again.

Strain off the liquid and season with a little salt and a good belt of pepper.
Add the lemon juice to taste.
You now have a liquid gel, so be fairly quick.
Bear in mind the earthy sweetness and lemon sharpness are muted by chilling.

Ideally you will need 4 small ramekins or wide mouth glass' to prep this.
You could also use a muffin tray or something similar.
Pour in a little of the liquid gel to cover the base of each mold.
Peel and dice the cooked beetroot if you have not done so already.
Divide the diced beetroot between the molds, mixing in the rest of the liquid gel as you do.

Chill for about 2 hours or until the gel is set.

Loosen the beetroot timbales by dipping their molds into hot water and turn out carefully.

Place onto serving plates, and put a little raita on the plate, or use a bowl with a serving spoon to share  - I have always felt it really adds to the enjoyment of any meal to share.

Arrange a little salad around the edge of the plate - peppery watercress or slices of buttery avocado are my favorites but best of all are the leaves of the beetroot around the edge of the plate.

Comments are, as always, most welcome

Enjoy!

Connemara Kosambir

Well with all the recipes using greens I was at risk of turning into the turnip leaf version Pvt. Benjamin Buford 'Bubba' Blue from Forest Gump, so heres another beetroot recipe.

This is a beetroot salad from Maharajtra in Western India.

Kosambir are very simple no-cooking, mix and match recipes with raw vegetables/lentils, are healthy and easy to make.

1lb of peeled grated beetroot
1/2 cup peanuts and/or cashews roughly crushed
1/2 cup onion finely chopped
5 springs Coriander finely chopped,
(I used Osaka Mustard greens for extra heat)
1 Tsp roasted cumin powder
Green Chilies, finely chopped to taste
Lemon or Lime juice to taste
Salt to taste

If it is available, a little coconut milk can be nice to turn the chilies into a paste.


Just throw in a bowl and mix. If you are grating/shredding the beetroot by hand, don't wear anything you don't mind losing, this is one recipe that men have a right to wear an apron for

Beets are very healthy. A lot of recipes ask that you add sugar, but small beets are very sweet.
The beets and onions have a lovely crunch to them.
Add the chopped onions to the salad only when serving, otherwise the salad loses its freshness.
Its also best served a little chilled, so stick in the fridge for about an hour before serving.

It can be a lunch salad, or a side dish with curries.

You can make it mild or hot.

TOP TIP: Have this mixed with cold leftover rice, especially basmati - delish.

आप का खाना स्वादिष्ट हो (āp kā khānā svādiṣṭa ho) as they say in hindi, but dont ask me to pronounce it.