Sweetfire Beetroot Recipes

It’s the most wonderful time of year, again.  No, not that one – the time of year when Tesco Head Office fails to comprehend or take on board the severe drop in customers when the season ends and the tourists leave Padstow!  They stock up like maniacs and we pick up so many fabulous bargains that we actually share them with the neighbours!

A lovely find, and something I had not tasted before was these little beauties. They are called Sweetfire Baby Beetroot and are indeed sweet and spicy, in fact I hope the neighbours didn't have too much of a surprise, we didn't realise how hot they are.

So what did I do with this bounty? Firstly I made ...

Beetroot & Boursin Risotto 

Serves 2

1 tbsp olive oil or butter
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, finely minced
200g risotto rice, such as Arborio or Carnaroli
½ glass of white wine
500ml or so vegetable stock, gently simmering with the lid on
6 Sweetfire baby beetroot
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp or so Boursin (or other cream cheese)

~   Gently cook the onion in the oil or butter in a saucepan till tender.
~   Stir in the garlic and cook a minute or two more.
~   Stir in the rice and continue cooking and stirring for 7–8 minutes until it looks translucent.

~   Add the wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed.

~   Add a ladleful of hot stock and continue to cook, stirring and staring into space till that too is absorbed. Carry on like this with the stock until the rice is just tender with a little bite in the middle (al dente) and is coated in creamy sauce which will take about 20 minutes. It may not take all the stock or might need a little more, use your judgment.
~   Stir in the beetroot and then the Boursin.

~   Taste and season and stir over the heat just long enough to mingle in the cheese and heat through the beetroot.

~   Serve immediately.

Riso al Salto

With the leftover risotto (I never seem to finish my dinners!) I made Riso al Salto, or “leftover risotto fritter thing” as it’s known in the UK, for a Sudden Lunch.  Just form the cold risotto (it has to be cold or it won’t work) into a cake and fry in a little olive oil till hot and crisp.

Sweetfire Beetroot Soup 

Serves 2

This is another variation on my Super Flexible Recipe for Soup.

Maybe pin this for later!

1 medium red onion – thinly sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small floury potato – peeled and thinly sliced
vegetable stock
6-8 baby beetroot – coarsely chopped

~   Cook the onions in the oil exactly as explained here which is The Best Way to Cook Onions!
~   Peel and slice the potato and add to the onions.
~   Add just enough stock to cover the potatoes, bring to the boil, turn down the heat, put on the lid,) and simmer till the potatoes are tender.
~   Stir in the beetroot and cook for 5 more minutes.
~   Purée in a liquidiser, food processor or with a liquidiser on a stick adding more stock (or cream) to make it just how you like it.
~   Taste and season.
~   Serve topped with a little sour cream if you can – it goes really well.

After spurning beets for years and years due to having been frightened by them as a child I am now starting to realise that they are not the demon veg I thought they were. This is the second time I’ve had a go with them in just a couple of months. 

McDonald's ...

A week or two ago, under duress, my real man and I went into a McDonald's for breakfast.  It was his first visit and the only time I went into one before was about 25 years ago when I was showing a friend why I didn’t think it was real food.  At the time I think there was a sign on the wall saying ...

"Now Made with Real Chicken!!"

On this visit I had pancakes with maple syrup – they tasted fine but were ultra-flabby as one would expect, I suppose, as they'd been steaming in a box. My coffee was fine.  My darling had an egg McMuffin which he said tasted OK but was tiny.  

Actually I can see that McDonalds are a boon to people on the road who just need to refuel but in recent, unrelated to my visit, discussions on FB I have read of mothers who take their children to McD every morning for breakfast on the way to school.  Is that cos they are poor?  Because if so I’ve got news for them!

For how to easily make all sorts of delicious pancakes see here!

Generally speaking the weather is still fab in Cornwall and we've been for a lovely wander in the countryside three days in a row. Our primroses and lots of other flowers are blooming and we saw rhododendrons in bud. Is this normal can anyone tell me?

What to do with Leftover Leftovers!

~  Menu  ~

Boursin filled Smoked Garlic & Butternut “Quasi-Arancini”

Roasted Tomato & Chilli Sauce

Glass of Secret Red

A few Amaretti

Coffee

A few days ago I cooked a traditional roast chicken dinner for the men in my life.  I like roast chicken too but have taken to eating mine with spicy roasted butternut squash; the sweet heat of which goes so well with the tender chicken and the salty gravy.  Of course in my enthusiasm I cooked too much squash.

Last night I made a simple risotto (basic risotto recipe below) with red wine and veg stock and stirred in the leftover squash together with a little smoked garlic which I had bought at the Cake~Hole.  

I couldn't eat all the risotto either so for lunch today I made a cake of the leftovers into the middle of which I inserted a ball of Boursin.  I coated the risotto cake in flour and fried it hot and crispy.  This is known as an arancini. I served it to myself with a spoonful of leftover roasted tomato and chilli sauce and the last few salad leaves from the fridge.

"Wullla" as the Americans say!  I managed to eat all of it this time.

How to make Risotto

There are numerous recipes all over the place for risotto, here are some basic guidelines.  If you are cooking for four whole people you need 400g risotto rice and 1¼ ltrs of liquid including the wine; adjust accordingly

~   Finely chop some onion (I used red) and cook till tender in a little oil or butter.  Add finely chopped garlic if you like and cook a few minutes more.

~   Add risotto rice (I used 125g Arborio which is enough for about 1¼ people and explains why I couldn’t quite eat it all) and stir it around to coat with the buttery oily goo.  Cook a few minutes till a little translucent.

~   Meanwhile, as they say, have ready some simmering stock.

~   When the rice has been cooking a few minutes add a splash of wine.  Some people say the wine should be warm so as not to “shock” the rice but it has to take it chances with me.

~   Cook, stirring constantly, till the wine has been absorbed.

~   Add a ladle of hot stock and continue to cook, stir, absorb, add a little more etc. till the rice is just tender with a little bite in the middle (al dente) and is coated in a creamy and unctuous goo.

~   Stir in your chosen additions and flavouring also perhaps a knob of butter or some cream or cream cheese.  A good dose of grated Parmesan is almost a must.

~   Eat immediately.

Fresh Pea (Pod) & Smoky Bacon Risotto

~  Menu ~

Fresh Pea & Smoky Bacon Risotto

White Wine

Our friend Carol gave us loads of peas from her garden and I had a nostalgic old popping session; I don’t think I’ve shelled pease since I was a child.  I have always thought that frozen peas were as good as fresh and I still think they freeze very well but it turns out they are not as good as fresh after all.

These were sweet and tender and perfect and even raw were sweet, tender and delicious.

For dinner last night I had ... 

Accidentally Peppered Salmon

Fresh Peas, Asparagus,  New Potatoes 

Roasted Garlic Mayonnaise

... which was spicy as heck.  What happened was the lid fell off the pepper grinder and dumped 50g of whole peppercorns all over my dinner.  Once I had removed most of them the dinner was pretty good!

After shelling the peas it seemed a shame to throw away all the pods so today I made up a risotto for lunch and, to be frank, although it was delicious I wouldn’t bother with the pea pod broth again – lots of faff for little flavour.  So ignoring the fact that I simmered pea pods, onion and carrot for 20 minutes with the lid on and then strained pressing on the debris to extract all the flavour here is the recipe.

Fresh Pea (Pod) & Smoky Bacon Risotto – serves 1

Pin for when you have some pea pods!

½ tbsp olive oil

2 rashers smoky bacon cut into strips

½ a small onion finely diced

a little garlic

1 tsp butter

100g risotto rice

a splash of white wine

350ml stock (pea pod stock if you wish) – hot, simmering even

a handful of fresh peas

30g parmesan or similar

~   Cook the bacon in the olive oil till turning golden, set aside.

~   Cook the onion in the remaining oil till turning translucent and golden.

~   Add the teaspoon of butter and the little bit of garlic then stir in the rice till it is all coated with the buttery oniony goo and turning a little translucent itself round the edges.

~   Add the wine and cook, stirring, till it has disappeared.

~   Stir in about a quarter of the stock and simmer over low heat, stirring often, till it is all absorbed then add a second quarter of stock and repeat until the stock has all gone.

~   Half way through adding the stock stir in the peas.

~   The risotto is done when the rice has a little bite to it and is bathed in a delicious creamy (texture) broth.

~   Stir in the parmesan cheese and the bacon to heat through, cover, turn off the heat and rest a minute.

~   Eat

I used to love cooking risotto at work – such a wonderful excuse for not doing several things at once; a very pleasant 20 minute break with just a cup of Chef’s Coffee, a wooden spoon and maybe a little reading.

Another childhood memory I experienced the other day was I got abso-flippin’lutely (or similar) soaked walking up the hill from Padstow.  I sheltered in the church for a while, which was nice, and then under the lych gate and then dodged from tree to tree but eventually I had to go out into the full downpour.  I can’t remember this happening to me since the 1960s and then I thought it was fun!