Seasonal Vegetable: I Heart Beet

Beetroot is the most commonly found form of beets in North America and Great Britain. This plant (Beta Vulgaris) has a long history of cultivation, dating back to the second millennium before Christ.  It may have begun around the Mediterranean Sea, and traveled as far as China.

Most of us know the root part of this vegetable, which unfortunately is often served in France as part of a terrible tasting school food salad. However, this wonderful root vegetable, vivid purple in color and with a distinctive, earthy and slightly sweet taste, can be prepared to taste great and bring add a pleasure blast to the wonderful nutritional values it can transmit to us.

Despite its low calorie content, beetroot contains several vitamins (C, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9), plenty of minerals (Magnesium, Potassium, Calcium, Phosphorus, Iron, Zinc), and betaine, which is why it is said to help maintain good cardiovascular health and prevent stroke when absorbed with other elements present in the beetroot. This same element, according to research performed on rats, may also protect against liver disease and maintain a healthy level of acidity in the stomach for those whose acidity levels are too low. 

Another study showed that the dietary nitrate present in beetroot may lower blood pressure, another heart friendly effect of the purple beauty. 

And it can be consumed in many ways!

If you're raw, you can juice it with ginger and other ingredients like celery, lemon or parsley. Or check out fermented beet beverage like the one mentioned on a previous post (http://starknakedhealth.blogspot.com/2010/09/1st-product-review-live-vegetable.html).

They're also available fermented in jars at health stores and local markets. Last but not least, you can shred them into a purple salad with a little lemon juice, olive oil, and parsley. Another nice combo is apple cider vinegar, grape seed oil with shallots and fresh dill. Beet and Red Cabbage sprout are pretty nifty too.

For those who cook theirs veggies, roasted beets are always great and go with many things, from raw goat's cheese to roasted apples by way of shitake mushrooms, garlic and carrots.

Though I have yet to try them the leaves are also edible and apparently taste like spinach. I will post again once I've made an attempt, which should be soon enough since it's the season.

And of course, there's Borscht, so here's a recipe for it, created by my mother and myself. We enjoyed it more than once!

French Borscht

by Claude Mondiere and Anne-Sophie Martin-Mondiere

Ingredients for 12

8 to 10 large beets
 3 Tbs. avocado oil
2 large red onions, chopped
6 large carrots, peeled and sliced
2 heads cabbage, shredded
4 cups sliced fresh mushrooms (crimini or shitake)
The juice of 1 lemon

1 granny smith apple
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Fresh lemon juice, to taste
1/2 cup organic kefir, yogurt or sour cream made from raw milk
1 tsp. bottled prepared horseradish
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill

1 teaspoon ground clove

Trim off the beet greens and set aside.  Peel and cut the roots into  chunks. Thinly slice enough beet greens to fill one cup. Place avocado oil in a skillet over medium high heat and add mushrooms until they brown a bit. Add the onions, clove, carrots and beets, stir, cover and leave them on low heat a few minutes so they sweat a little. . Add the cabbage, granny smith, and cover with water. Simmer about 30 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper and  lemon juice. Then blend to obtain a smooth and vibrant purple soup. 
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the yogurt/kefir/sour cream, dill and horseradish until they're smooth and even. Mince the fresh dill and place in another small bowl.

Serve immediately, with the cream and the dill on the table.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beetroot
ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_vulgaris
http://eattheseasons.co.uk/index.htm