One of our strongest crops at the allotment this year has been the beets. I had hopefully strewn a couple of packets’ worth of the knobbly little seeds into some of our beds a few months back and hoped for the best, and these guys have really shown up for us. As well as being able to grow gorgeous varieties like the golden, white and bright pink candy stripes, we’ve benefited massively from the tops, which at first glance we took to be chard before we realised the beets themselves were lurking beneath. On eating, they are really pretty similar and can be treated almost identically in the cooking to chard, though the leaves are a little more fragile perhaps. But they have that deep earthiness and savouriness of spinach or chard which make them perfect for all manner of dishes, and especially good with the beets themselves. The other day I roasted the beet bulbs and then made a lovely braise of sorts with the stems and leaves which we ate them together with the yoghurt flatbreads and a handful of delicious savoury granola from new book The Joyful Home Cook, which I will blog about soon, but which for now you can check out here.
We also had some beautiful violet broad beans, so they went in there too, along with our crop of shallots. The dish was so satisfying and really vibrant, and a few of you asked for the recipe, so here it is. You could of course add peas, sliced runner beans or other seasonal veg like artichokes too. I really hope you like the recipe and if you have a patch but haven’t yet grown beetroots yet, I can’t recommend it enough. Just look at those beautiful colours!
Roasted beets with beet top and broad bean braise
For the roast beets
6 fresh beetroots with their tops, tops separated from the bulbs, bulbs scrubbed
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
A handful of thyme sprigs
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 tsp red wine or sherry vinegar
tsp good quality honey
a handful of mint leaves, larger ones sliced
For the braise
Olive oil
2 shallots, peeled and sliced
2 slices of preserved lemon, chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed and chopped
pinch of chilli flakes
pinch of fennel seeds
the beetroot tops from above, stems separated from the leaves, washed, stems chopped
1 tomato, chopped
150g fresh, podded broad beans
1 glass white wine
Lemon juice, to taste
tbsp chopped fresh herbs such as dill or parsley
To serve
4-6 tbsp full fat natural yoghurt (preferably organic, live, unpasteurised)
Handfuls of savoury granola (recipe in The Joyful Home Cook)
Yoghurt flatbreads (recipe in The Joyful Home Cook)
Heat the oven to 180 fan. Lay out a large double layer of tin foil and place your beets in the middle. Pour over a glug of olive oil, scatter over the thyme and garlic and season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Wrap the beets up into a sealed parcel, place in a roasting tray and roast for 45 mins to one hour, until the beets are tender – you can test this by inserting a sharp knife blade. Once tender, remove from the oven and unwrap. Allow to cool and then peel and slice into wedges. Toss them into a bowl and dress with a little more oil, the vinegar and honey. Season to taste and set aside.
For the braise, heat about two tablespoons of olive oil over a medium to hight heat in a non-stick frying pan or skillet. Add in the preserved lemon, garlic, chilli and fennel seeds and stir to infuse the oil, then add the shallot and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes or until the shallots have softened, then add the chard stalks and tomato and continue to cook, stirring, for a few minutes more, until the tomato is starting to give up its juice and break down. Next add the white wine, and stir, cooking until most of it has evaporated, then pour over a cup of water and throw in the beans. Cover the pan with a lid, and cook for 3-4 mins, until the broad beans have cooked through, then stir in the leaves, covering again and cooking for a minute or two more, until they’ve wilted. Stir in the herbs and season the whole lot with a little lemon juice and more salt if you think it needs, then drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
Mix the mint leaves with the roasted beets and divide between plates with the braise, yoghurt and flatbreads. Scatter over the savoury granola. Devour.