Salt Baked Beetroot

I have always loved food, inspired by my Nan and my Mum who were always in the kitchen. The style of food I grew up with was fresh, wholesome and nutritious. Everything made from scratch; this was not the time of fast food and convenience products.

I had more of an understanding of where food came from, and picking fruit and vegetables straight from the allotment was a real treat.

I remember walking with my Granddad in his vast garden, where he had these wonderful beetroot growing amongst other vegetables. We pulled on the long beautiful stalks and eased them from the ground, taking them up to my Nan where she would cut the leaves off to mix in a salad, then wrap this sticky dough around them and pop them in the oven. The smell was wonderful!

To achieve the natural intense flavour of beetroot, inspired by childhood memories, follow my simple recipe below.

This easy recipe shows you how to encase the beetroot in a salted dough crust. This will deepen the flavour and colour of the beetroot. After cooking, you might want to wear gloves to break the crust and peel the beets – this will stop you having purple hands!

Salt baking is ancient culinary technique to preserve food, which was used when fridges and freezers were nonexistent. We are now seeing this natural preservation method coming back in a big way, from top end restaurants to gastro pubs, and hopefully at home, where we can really savour this humble vegetable.

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time 60 mins

Menu suggestions:

Salt baked Beetroot with sourdough crumbs

Brief description: Very thinly sliced beetroot, arranged neatly on a plate with Red amaranth, small beetroot leaves and a drizzled of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with toasted sourdough crumbs.