Marinated beetroot

[desperance]

I am marinating beetroot tonight. Because I have them, and because I can.

It goes like this: boil the beetroot in their skins, in a mixture of red wine vinegar and water with a pinch of salt. How much vinegar? Well, I just used what I had, which was perhaps one-third vinegar to two-thirds water or thereabouts. Perhaps a little less. I don't believe it matters, more than that. Make sure the beets are covered, bring the liquid to the boil, turn the heat down and cover and go away for an hour, or a little longer. Drain, let 'em cool a little then rub off the skins and slice. The thickness of a pound coin is good, to those who are familiar with UK currency.

Lay them in a dish while they're still warm, and finely slice a couple of garlic cloves and a red chilli (actually I used two, fresh and dried: one for heat and one for flavour). Add some fresh herbs: oregano would be good, but I have none this end of the year, so in went thyme and garlic chives (which actually I had snipped because I thought I was cooking a risotto tonight, but apparently I'm being taken out to dinner, so waste not want not...). Mix all of these with the beetroot and then cover with olive oil and put it away.

Sometime this week, I'll have to have people round for dinner. Tomorrow, it'll be nice; in a week, it'll be gorgeous (but possibly too hot for the sensitive palate). I have historically served it with confit of quail, but I have also secretly munched it on its own as a sort of appetiser/nibble - and bread dunked in the oil is just yummy.

Comments

[fjm.livejournal.com]

Sounds gorgeous.

I've just cooked the left over chicken with onion, peppers an chili and eaten them with tacos, avocado and tomato. Miss P loved the chilli chicken.

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

I could be there by Thursday if I started swimming now...

[desperance.livejournal.com]

With regard to chilli, there are always cats who do and cats who don't. Someone (can't remember who) was commenting in LJ only a few days back, how their cat had eaten something chilli and resented it all night. Barry loves it - hotter the better, apparently (at least, I haven't yet made the curry he won't eat; and I make my curries hot).

[desperance.livejournal.com]

That would be perfect. Towels are warming (under the cat, but it's as good a way as any).

[deadcities-icon.livejournal.com]

My thoroughly French side says "Jeezus, you guys need to learn to cook!".

[fjm.livejournal.com]

In the days when this was still an option for me, Miss P had a distinct partiality to Kung Po prawns.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Gabe, I love the French in all their incarnations; but this curious notion that French cooking is the only cooking is insular to the point of incapacity. The confit of quail is amazingly French, as is the red onion marmalade that accompanies it; but the li'l birdie sits on a slab of marinated beetroot which is certainly not French, and brings a whole nother note to the orchestration of flavours, and that whole is greater even than the sum of its scrummy parts.

So neh.