I adore beetroot. It has that earthy sweetness about it. And the colour. I guess it figures considering my addiction to rhubarb. This is sensational, but go easy on the garlic. I haven’t and am really regretting it. Nigella recommends using a high quality red wine vinegar or if that is not possible, a run of the mill balsamic. I did the latter and it is fantastic.
Beetroot puree
- 500g raw beetroot
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 50g walnuts
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 20g coriander
- 10g flat-leaf parsley
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 3 tsp red wine vinegar
- preheat oven to 220C and make a foil parcel for the beetroots
- place beetroots in the foil to make a roomy parcel with tightly sealed edges
- cook for 2 hours depending on size, check at 1 hour if you must. I was going to then completely forgot until the two hours were up. They were fine
- Unwrap and let cool
- Blitz the garlic in a food processor then add the walnuts and process again
- Peel and roughly chop the beetroot (I wore latex gloves so my hands didn’t look like they were bleeding for days)
- Add the beetroot and everything else to the processor and whiz until it’s a fine paste
- Taste, it may need more vinegar
- Put into a bowl and let it mellow for at least two hours before using.
I doubled it all – it made 3x375g jars – so if you make it as above you’ll have a good amount for a dinner of about 6-8 adults.
It’s a much darker purple than my picture. It really is very pretty.
Great for any meat or with a cheese platter.