The beetroot is a beautiful root vegetable, rich in vitamins and microelements. It is popular and common in many European countries. For Ukrainian cuisine, the beetroot is a basis for borsch, many traditional salads and snacks. The Ukrainians call the beetroot “buriak”.
These are a few ways of cooking the beetroot.
Boiling
We know this method since our childhood, but not it is not so popular as it used to be as it is more troublesome, messes up the kitchen, and the beetroot itself is more watery and less tasty and less vitaminous.
Roasting in the Oven
This method is pretty good as it keeps the beetroot from losing its flavor and vitamins. It is also very convenient though quite time-sapping.
You can roast the beetroot in the oven in or without foil or in foil, but cut in pieces. You can use an oven bag instead of foil. Each of the methods has its pros and cons. Roasting in foil saves our time and keeps the beetroot tender.
Roasting without foil gives us an unforgettable flavor of a “roasted” vegetable. The beetroot also loses much water and gets more “stretchy”, if I may say so. Long story short, it gets incredibly delicious. Better might be only grilled beetroot! But you should keep in mind that if roasted without a foil, the beetroot will lose water and will get 3 times smaller.
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
- If you want to roast the beetroot in pieces (it is handy for salads and snacks), peel the beetroot and cut into pieces any size you like.
- If you roast the whole beetroot, wash it well and tap dry with a paper towel.
- If roasted in foil, wrap each beetroot (or its pieces, arranged in 2-3 flat layers) in two layer of foil.
- Arrange beetroots on a baking pan apart from each other. Cover the baking pan with a cookie sheet as the beetroot can release juices.
- Cooking time depends on the beetroot’s size, but not less than 1 h. A medium beetroot (10 cm diameter) will cook for 1.5-2 h. The beetroot cut in pieces will be done much earlier (check in 30 min).
- Check for doneness with a fork or a toothpick – they should slide easily.
- Chill the cooked beetroot, peel, cut and add in borsch, salads, snacks or keep refrigerated up to 5 days or freeze and keep longer.
Cooking in a Streamer
I always use this method when I prepare vinaigrette. Steamed beetroots take up much less time, moreover, they are always delicious and nutritious. Highly recommend!
Instructions:
- Cut the beetroot in cubes or stripes (depending on the dish you are preparing)
- Place in the lowest layer of the steamer. It is important when we cook a few different types of vegetables at the same time, as for vinaigrette. If cooked in upper layers, the beetroot’s juices could color the lower layers of vegetables.
- Cook for 30 min
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