Hot grated beetroot

Beetroot as a side dish for chops? Or mushrooms if you’re vegan? We’d usually bake them if we were having a roast, but for something you grill or fry, like chops, an ideal side dish is to grate the beetroot then lightly fry it in olive oil and stir in a few capers just as you serve the meal. It is really satisfying, and the deep red colour really livens up your plate!

And this week, it helps use up some of the oversized and flavoursome beetroots from the Sunday afternoon veggy markets. We can do baked beets with a roast, beetroot dip, and borsch is coming soon. And I’m sure we saw a beetroot and chocolate cake recipe somewhere .. if only I can find it.

Perfect to go with chops or a roast: hot grated beetroot with a liberal scattering of capers

• Servings: 4-6
• Time: 30 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

• 1 large beetroot (to get 2 grated cups)
• olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of water
• 2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar
• capers
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Peel and grate the beetroot. Wear gloves if you’re not too keen on having bright red hands for a couple of hours. You want about 2 cups of uncooked, grated beetroot.
2. Cook the grated beetroot with a little oil, the water and vinegar in a small saucepan with the lid on it for about 8 to 10 minutes, until the beetroot is just tender. Stir it every couple of minutes.
3. Remove the lid, and cook the beetroot for another few minutes to cook off any excess liquid. The beetroot should still be crisp and have a nice gloss. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Stir in the capers at the last minute and serve.

Notes

Stephanie Alexander’s original recipe used 2 ounces of butter instead of oil and deep fried the capers, which are supposed to open like ‘minuscule flowers’. I quite like the flavour of capers more than the flavour of deep frying, so we stir them in straight from the jar.

Source: Adapted from The Cook’s Companion. The Complete Book of Ingredients and Recipes for the Australian Kitchen. 1996. By Stephanie Alexander. Penguin Books Ltd: London.

Hot grated beetroot