Recipes for when you have Too Much Beetroot

When my niece Jenny was little she thought that “as a beetroot” was an expression of extremity which didn’t only apply to degrees of redness.  Our Jenny used to run as fast as beetroot, be as cross as a beetroot and so on.

Unlike Jenny I was, like many people, frightened by beetroot as a child (the pickled stuff in school dinners) but am beginning to pull round now which is, to a large extent, thanks to Tesco’s beetroot salad– even my real man likes it!

There is a surprisingly high proportion of beetroot to leaves in the salad so I often end up with just beetroot which, of course, is not a problem.

Today, for instance, I had a very sudden lunch, as is my wont – my survey of the fridge yielded the beetrooty end of a bag of beetroot salad, a little sour cream and three inches of leek.  Obviously the answer was soup, as is often the way.  Not borscht, of course, just beetroot soup.

Not-Borscht for 1

3” leftover leek – sliced

15g butter

1 small-ish potato – peeled and thinly sliced

1 handful leftover beetroot julienne – or even purpose bought

250ml vegetable stock

dollop of sour cream

~   Cook the leek very gently in the butter till very tender.  This is best done by pressing a piece of foil or a butter wrapper onto the leeks, putting on the lid and turning the heat down low.

~   When the leeks are tender add the potato and beetroot and enough stock to just cover the vegetables.

~   Bring to the boil, turn the heat down again, put on the lid and cook till all is tender.
~   Mash with a masher or purée in an electrical appliance together with the sour cream.

~   Taste and season and add more cream, stock or water till it is just how you like it.

See here for Sweetfire Beetroot Soup - both of these recipes are, of course, based on my genius soup recipe which I expound upon in “SOUP (almost) the Only Recipe You’ll Ever Need” – there is even a recipe for yer actual Borscht in it!

Other ways to use leftover beetroot julienne ...

~   As a very pretty garnish as on this ‘ere Finnan Crispy Pizza.  

~   To make coleslaw turn a romantic pink. 

~   Add to stir fries, other soups, bean dips, potatoes when cooking for mashing etc.