Brilliant beetroot – beat that for taste

Beetroot is a key ingredient in many fantastic salads, at its best in the traditional Russian soup Borsch and delicious roasted to accompany roast meats and casseroles. The preparation and cooking guidelines below will help you to get the best out of brilliant beetroot, with its sweet, earthy flavour.

Preparation and cooking: To ensure even cooking, choose beetroot of roughly the same size, and make sure that the roots are not damaged and that the skin is smooth and intact. Cut off the leaves about 5cm above the top of the beetroot. Place beetroot in lightly salted water, bring to the boil and cook for 30-40 min until tender. Pierce gently with a skewer to check it is cooked through. Cool slightly to make them easier to handle and then gently rub off the skins. To avoid ending up with ruby red fingers, use some plastic gloves.

Flavours of Yorkshire Beetroot

This is a fantastic show stopper of a starter and is made up of individual platters of these fabulous recipes.

Beetroot Bloody Mary

2kg red beetroot, 500g golden beetroot, if available or use red, 1 Vanilla pod, 50ml olive oil, 300ml apple juice, 500ml beetroot juice , 75ml sherry vinegar, pinch sugar, 25ml vodka

Peel all the beetroot and chop roughly. Place in a pan and cook with the olive oil, vanilla pod and a little salted water until tender.

Drain and remove the vanilla pod. Place into a container with the apple juice, beetroot juice, sherry vinegar and sugar and blend using a stick blender until smooth.

Pass through a strainer and chill.

Beetroot Jelly

300ml beetroot juice, 50g caster sugar, 50ml port, 2 strips peeled orange zest, 1 star anise, 50ml red wine vinegar, 4 black peppercorns, ¼ tsp mustard seeds , 4g agar agar flakes or gelatine leaf or powder – follow directions on pack

Line a shallow oven tray with cling film, or use mini jelly moulds. Put all the ingredients, except the agar agar flakes, into a pan and bring to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside for 15 min. Return to the heat and whisk in the agar agar flakes. Bring to the boil, and then remove the pan from the heat and strain through a sieve into the oven tray or moulds. Leave to chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours, or until set.

Beetroot Risotto

75g unsalted butter, 3-4 tbs olive oil, 900ml hot vegetable stock, 1 large onion finely chopped, 2 fat cloves of garlic chopped, 225g arborio or carnaroli risotto rice, 1 large glass of white wine, 100ml double cream, 200g diced cooked beetroot, pinch chopped parsley, thyme

Melt the butter and the oil in a roomy solid-based, shallow pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened and golden in colour. Add the rice and stir to coat all the grains well. Pour in the glass of wine. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and cook until the wine has almost evaporated. Gradually begin to add the hot stock, a ladle at a time. Wait until the stock has been absorbed by the rice before adding any more. Continue to add the stock until it is all used up and the risotto has a soft, creamy consistency. When the rice is cooked it should be al dente. Add the cream and diced beetroot and heat slowly allowing the beetroot to bleed into the risotto rice. At the last minute add the chopped herbs.

Baby Leaf Salad

To include a mix of the following: Red amaranth, purple basil, bulls blood chard, purple shiso, red vain sorrel

Assembling the individual platters: Pour chilled Beetroot Bloody Mary into chilled shot glass. Add vodka and garnish with the heart leaf of celery.

Cut the beetroot jelly into 4cm squares or remove from moulds and let it come to room temperature. Place a square of jelly on the plate.

For the risotto, place into a small serving dish and garnish with a beetroot crisp (at the Butchers Arms we slice the beetroot and dry in the oven overnight). Place the dish on the serving plate. Garnish the plate with the baby herb salad and drizzle with a little olive oil and beetroot reduction. This is beetroot juice reduced to a thick syrup.

Grandma Bilton’s Pickled Beetroot with Mustard

450g beetroot or baby beetroot, 1 tsp English mustard, ¼ tsp pepper, ½ tsp salt, 1 tblsp soft brown sugar, 2.5 cups of malt vinegar

This recipe goes back three generations and is still one of my all-time favourite beetroot recipes. Wash and boil the beetroot. Carefully remove the outer skin while the beets are still warm. Slice the beetroot (unless using baby beetroot) and place in sterilised jar. Mix together the English mustard, pepper, salt and soft brown sugar. Carefully whisk into the malt vinegar in a small pan and then bring to the boil. Pour over the beetroot and seal the jars.

Beetroot Brownies

3-4 whole beetroots, 200g chopped plain chocolate, 250g caster sugar, 3 eggs, 100g plain flour

Boil the beetroot for 12 minutes, and then peel and chop. Blitz the beetroot while warm with the chopped plain chocolate, using a hand blender or food processor. In a separate bowl, whisk the sugar and the eggs until pale and foamy and then fold this into the beetroot mixture. Sift in the plain flour, before pouring it all into a buttered and lined 20x30cm tray. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C/Gas 4 for 25 min. Cool completely in the tin, then cut into squares. Serve on a plate with a scoop of ice cream of your choice served in a little brandy snap basket, and decorate the plate with a drizzle of chocolate sauce, chocolate curls and a mint leaf.

* Tim Bilton is chef/proprietor of the Butcher’s Arms in Hepworth. www.thebutchersarmshepworth.co.uk