I have really grown to love beetroot. No longer is it limited to a pickle in my homemade burger or a flash of colour in my summer salad, it is now smack bang on my winter menu too: Beetroot & Corn Couscous
‘Oh, not me” I hear you say? I appreciate that beetroot isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay. Maybe the colour puts some off, or the taste which can certainly be ‘earthy’ particularly if you drink it freshly juiced, but perhaps just perhaps, you haven’t given it a fair go! After all, not everyone knows how to cook with beetroot. I am speaking for myself here, so I decided to take my stained red fingers and get creative in the kitchen.
Beetroot has a crazy, vibrant crimson colour that makes cooking with it lots of fun. No other vegetable as quite the same pigment as good old beetroot (which does stain more than fingers, so be sure not wear your Sunday best). If you ever wondered, those red pigments are called betalains and help boost the body’s detoxification processes, hence they are often feature in juice bar blends. Not only weird coloured, they are good for you too!
If you are growing your own beetroot remember you can eat the young beetroot leaves (tossed through salads) not just the root. Beets last for quite some time once harvested, so keep them in the vege drawer in the fridge until you need them.
Firstly you’ll need to prepare them though so wash off the dirt and trim the leaves. Only when you are ready to use should you peel the skin — and in many cases you don’t even need to do that. They will ‘bleed’ as soon as the skin is nicked so hold tight. Sure you can grate raw for salads, or roast them skin on, and even boil them whole. The skin will be easy to remove once cooked, just allow to cool then rub off.
I find cooked beetroot is really versatile and freezable too in an air tight bag.
I digress. I’m having fun with couscous at the moment (corn, Israeli and normal) so looked to add some colour and flavour to a dish that needs both to permeate an otherwise flavourless staple.
Beetroot & Corn Couscous
Ingredients
- 1 shallot, diced
- 1 tsp garlic, minced
- drizzle of vegetable oil
- 5 small beetroots, cooked
- 1 lime
- 2 courgette, grated
- 1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
- pepper and salt
- 2 cups corn coucous
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 25g butter
- 100g feta
- sprigs of marjoram
Method
- Firstly saute the shallot and garlic in a little oil for a few minutes until soft. Puree the cooked beetroot (which should measure around 1 cup) and add to the shallots. Add the juice of a lime, grated courgette, walnuts and season to taste with generous grinds of pepper and salt. Turn the heat down to a low temperature and allow the mixture to simmer away nicely.
- In the meanwhile prepare the corn couscous as per the directions on the packet: a 2 cups of corn couscous to 2 cups of hot vegetable stock and a dash of oil. Cover and allow to steep for 3-4 minutes, before adding butter (allowing to melt) then fluffing up with a fork.
- Combine both the beetroot mix and couscous and fold through evenly.
- Serve warm with crumbled feta and marjoram leaves.
