Riverford Farm Cook Book: Tales from the Fields, Recipes from the Kitchen. Jane Baxter

Riverford Farm Cook Book: Tales from the Fields, Recipes from the Kitchen

to serve (optional)

Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and fry until soft but not coloured. Add the potato and ginger and fry for 3 minutes. Add the orange zest and juice, plus the beetroot and water, then bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes, until the potato is tender. Blend until smooth. Reheat gently and season to taste.

Serve garnished, if you like, with a swirl of cream or yoghurt and a little grated orange zest.

Warm Beetroot Salad with Orange, Bacon and Caraway

This is Jane’s favourite beetroot dish. We had it on our Christmas menu with potato pancakes, smoked eel and horseradish – a lovely combination. It’s also very good served simply with watercress or spinach leaves. The bacon can be omitted for vegetarians and the result will still be fine.

Serves 4

about 300g beetroot, trimmed

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 smoked streaky bacon rashers, chopped

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

1 garlic clove, crushed

5 tablespoons orange juice

1 teaspoon sugar

3 oranges, peeled and sliced

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the beets in a baking dish, add 5mm of water, then cover with foil. Place in an oven preheated to 400°F/Gas Mark 6 and roast for about 45 minutes, until tender. Skin the beetroot, trim the ends and slice into thick batons or wedges.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the bacon and fry until starting to brown. Remove from the pan. Add the caraway seeds and garlic and fry for a few minutes, adding the orange juice and sugar before the garlic browns. Mix thoroughly and bring to the boil. Tip in the beetroot and stir until thoroughly coated with the hot dressing. Season well. Stir in the orange slices and then sprinkle with the bacon. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.

Chocolate Beetroot Brownies

Rich, dark, moist and gorgeous – but since these brownies include healthy beetroot, you can enjoy them with a clear conscience. Another bonus is that they are wheat free.

Makes about 9

250g dark chocolate, chopped

200g unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1 tablespoon Tia Maria or other liqueur (optional)

250g beetroot, cooked

3 eggs

a drop of vanilla extract

200g caster sugar

50g cocoa powder,

50g rice flour (ground rice)

1 teaspoon baking powder

100g ground almonds

Put the chocolate and butter in a large bowl and place it over a pan of simmering water, making sure the water doesn’t touch the base of the bowl. Leave to melt, then remove from the heat and stir in the Tia Maria, if using.

Purée the cooked beetroot in a food processor. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla and sugar, and mix until smooth.

Sift the cocoa powder, rice flour and baking powder into a bowl and stir in the ground almonds. Stir the beetroot mixture into the melted chocolate and then fold in the dry ingredients.

Use baking parchment to line a rectangular tin, roughly 28 x 18cm. Pour in the mixture and place in an oven preheated to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until just firm to the touch. It’s important not to overcook brownies; a skewer inserted in the centre should come out slightly sticky. Leave to cool in the tin and then cut into squares.

Easy ideas for beetroot

♦ Roast 500g beetroot as described in Beetroot Gratin. Peel and cut into wedges, then toss with 1 tablespoon of marmalade, 50g butter and some salt and pepper. Return to a hot oven for 5 minutes or until glazed and heated through.

♦ Peel some beetroot, cut them into wedges and toss in a little olive oil and seasoning. Roast at 180°C/Gas Mark 4 for about 1 hour, until tender and slightly caramelised. Serve hot as a side dish or use in a warm salad.

♦ Grated raw beetroot works well in salads. Alternatively, cook grated beetroot in a covered pan with a knob of butter, a tablespoon of wine vinegar and some seasoning for about 10 minutes over a low heat. Serve with meat or game.

♦ Cook 200g grated beetroot as described above, then mix with an equal quantity of mashed potato, plus 2 fried diced onions, 1 tablespoon of soured cream and 1 teaspoon of creamed horseradish. Leave to cool, then shape into cakes, dust with flour and fry in butter until golden. Makes a shocking-pink alternative to bubble and squeak.

♦ To braise beetroot with their leaves, cut the leaves from the beetroot, wash well and chop coarsely. Peel the beetroot and cut them into wedges 1.5cm thick. Cook 1 chopped onion and 1 crushed garlic clove in a tablespoon of olive oil, until softened, then add the beetroot segments and enough water just to cover. Season and cook slowly for about 30 minutes, until the beetroot is tender. Add the chopped leaves (ruby chard can be added at this stage, too) and cook for 5 minutes. Season and sprinkle with lemon juice. Good served with Puy lentils and seasoned yoghurt.

♦ To make a stunningly coloured dressing, liquidise 1 cooked beetroot with 2 tablespoons of chicken stock, then whisk in 4 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of pink peppercorns, a pinch of caster sugar and some salt and pepper. Warm slightly and drizzle over a salad of roast pigeon breasts or sautéed chicken livers, or serve with grilled calf’s liver.

♦ Deep-fry beetroot shavings (made using a vegetable peeler) in sunflower oil, then drain well and sprinkle with salt for an alternative crisp.

♦ Substitute beetroot for carrots in the cake in Carrot Cake.

Bitter Leaves

Though the members of this family resemble lettuce in the field, they are actually more closely related to the dandelion. As a child, experimenting in nastiness, I can remember

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