Sunday, October 27, 2013

In Greece

This is an unexciting post. All I am doing is admiring the first mandarin oranges on the tree that I planted a few years ago, with an empty and inefficient brain.


The weather is unseasonably warm, perfect for half-heartedly tidying the garden and making salads. Today it was beetroot.


This is very easy to make. To do it Greek-style, buy fresh beetroot with the stalks and the leaves still attached. These are an integral part of the dish and it is always sad to go into a shop in the UK to see that they have all been trimmed off. Of course, the condition of the leaves will also tell you how fresh the vegetable is.

Trim the stalks and leaves and boil the beets in salted water for around 40 minutes, depending on size. In the meantime, chop the stalks and leaves, then add to the pan with the beets for another 20 minutes. Peel and slice the beets, place them on a dish with the cooked stalks and leaves, dress with olive oil and red wine vinegar - heavy on the vinegar, it takes loads without becoming too acid - and, this is the trick, garnish with thin slices of garlic. Let it stand to absorb the flavours and enjoy.

3 comments:

Will said...

I have an excellent finnish recipe using beetroot. will send you it.

SP said...

I eat beetroot with a dressin gof slightly thinned Greek yougurt, garlic and chopped coriander

The Plump said...

One of the stranger pleasures of beetroot is the purple poo afterwards. Recipes appreciated.