Regular use of beets will help you improve your metabolism and give a decent rebuff to seasonal diseases.
All thanks to the fact that root crops contain many minerals and vitamins.
But many people think that it needs to be cooked for a long time, and therefore she is a rare guest on our table.
There really is a way to cook beets in just 15 minutes.
How to cook beets - the basic principles of cooking
Before boiling beets, they must be thoroughly washed under running water. If the beets need to be boiled, cut into pieces, it is pre-peeled.
Today there are many kitchen appliances that greatly facilitate the life of modern housewives. Let's look at how and how much to cook beets in different kitchen units:
- in a pressure cooker: peeled and chopped beets are boiled for 20 minutes, whole root vegetables - 35 minutes;
- in a slow cooker: beets are cooked in the "baking" mode. Large beets - an hour. Root crops of average size - 40 minutes. Cut into slices - a quarter of an hour;
- in the microwave: cook beets in a special bowl. The vegetables are thoroughly washed, a lot of punctures are made through the needle and prepared without adding water at maximum power - ten minutes;
- in a double boiler: whole tubers - 50 minutes, cut into strips - half an hour.
Who does not have modern kitchen gadgets, they cook beets in the old fashioned way - in a pan. Here the question arises: how much to cook beets? The answer is simple: if you pour beets with cold water and put the pan on the fire, then the cooking time will average three hours. If the vegetable is dipped in boiling water, then it will be cooked for an hour.
If you need to quickly cook beets, put the pot of vegetables on an intense fire and do not cover. In this case, there should be a lot of water. Her level should be eight centimeters higher. After a quarter of an hour we set the pot with beets under a stream of ice water for ten minutes.
Beets prepare delicious first courses, salads and light main courses.
Recipe 1. Beetroot in cranberry-egg sauce
Ingredients
half a kilogram of beets;
a bunch of fresh herbs;
two boiled egg yolks;
salt;
5 g of mustard;
30 ml cranberry sauce;
100 g sour cream.
Cooking method
1. Wash the beets under running water and boil in any of the above methods until cooked. Cool the vegetable and peel. Cut it into small pieces.
2. Put two boiled yolks in a deep plate, add mustard to them and rub well. Pour in cranberry sauce, put sour cream and mix. Salt.
3. Combine the chopped beets with the sauce and mix. Serve the salad as a snack.
Recipe 2. Braised Spicy Beetroot with Walnuts
Ingredients
80 ml of vegetable oil;
pomegranate seeds for serving;
fresh greens;
salt;
three small beets;
50 ml of balsamic vinegar;
onion head;
thyme branch;
two cloves of garlic;
a handful of walnuts.
Cooking method
1. Boil beets until half cooked using any of the above methods. Cool the vegetable and grate it coarsely.
2. Pour vegetable oil into a pan, put grated beets and pour balsamic vinegar. Put the skillet over low heat, cover and simmer for forty minutes.
3. Peel and chop the onion head with small feathers. Add onions to a pan with beets, mix and slightly increase the heat.
4. Peel the garlic and pass through the garlic press and fry for two minutes, stirring constantly. Put a sprig of thyme, cover, reduce heat again and simmer for another half hour. Take out a branch of thyme, spread the stewed beets on plates and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and chopped walnuts.
Recipe 3. Beetroot and apple cream soup
Ingredients
30 ml of olive oil;
fresh dill;
three cloves of garlic;
50 g of feta cheese;
large onion head;
50 g of sour cream;
celery stalk;
six glasses of vegetable stock;
large carrot;
two apples;
800 g of beets.
Cooking method
1. Peel the carrots, onions and garlic cloves. Finely chop all peeled vegetables and celery. Put a thick-walled pan on the fire and heat oil in it. Put the vegetables in oil and cook for 15 minutes, stirring constantly, until soft.
2. Peel and crush the beets in small cubes. Cut the peeled apples in half and remove the core. Grind them in the same way as beets. Transfer the chopped vegetable with apples to the pan, mix and cook for five minutes.
3. Pour the vegetable stock, pepper, salt and bring to a boil. Twist the fire and cook for an hour, covered with a lid, until the beets are soft.
4. Puree the soup with a hand blender and pour into plates. In each add sour cream, crumbled feta cheese and serve with rye bread.
Recipe 4. Beetroot cakes with cottage cheese
Ingredients
half a kilogram of beets;
50 ml of vegetable oil;
180 g of cottage cheese;
onion head;
egg;
80 g breadcrumbs;
clove of garlic;
salt - two pinches.
Cooking method
1. We wash the beets under the tap and boil until soft. Cool the vegetable and peel it. Large three beets and drain the excess liquid. We clean the onion head and the clove of garlic and finely chop.
2. Fry the onion in hot oil until golden brown.
3. Mix beets with cottage cheese, fried onions and chopped garlic. Drive an egg into this mixture and mix.
4. Add the breadcrumbs, salt, mix again and leave for a quarter of an hour so that the crackers absorb the excess liquid. Put the cutlet mass in a pan with hot oil with a spoon and fry on both sides. Serve cutlets with sour cream or natural yogurt.
Recipe 5. Beetroot, potato and apple casserole
Ingredients
one carrot;
150 g of cheese;
salt;
three eggs;
a glass of sour cream;
six cherry tomatoes;
large onion head;
a pound of potatoes;
an Apple;
large beets.
Cooking method
1. From the beets and carrots, remove the peel with a sharp knife and cut them into circles. We clean the onion head and shred the half rings. Remove the tomatoes from the sprig and cut into quarters.
2. Peeled my potatoes and cut into thin slices. Wash the apple, remove the skin from it and cut it into slices.
3. In a separate bowl, combine sour cream with eggs, salt and whisk everything until smooth with a whisk. Three large cheese.
4. In a heat-resistant form we spread all the ingredients in layers:
- sliced potatoes;
- chopped onions;
- quarters of tomatoes;
- mugs of carrots;
- coarsely grated cheese;
- beets and apples (spread, alternating between them);
- grated cheese.
5. Pour in all egg-sour cream sauce. Cover the form with parchment and send it to the oven for forty minutes. Bake at 180 C. Then remove the paper, sprinkle with cheese again and put in the oven for another ten minutes. We take out of the oven, cool slightly and cut into portions. Serve the casserole by pouring sour cream on it.
Recipe 6. Salad with beets, apples and bacon
Ingredients
150 g of goat cheese;
beets - six pcs.;
vegetable oil;
two apples;
salt;
300 g of arugula;
allspice;
80 g of sunflower seeds;
250 g of bacon;
2 pinches of sugar;
3 shallots;
50 ml apple cider vinegar;
10 g of thyme leaves.
Cooking method
1. Peel the beets, cut into slices, put in a deep bowl, pour oil and salt. Stir and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 200 C for forty minutes.
2. Cut the bacon into long bars and fry it over low heat until the fat has melted.
3. Take out the bacon with a slotted spoon and transfer to a napkin. Peel and chop shallots in thin rings. Transfer it to fat, add thyme leaves, pepper, salt and fry, stirring constantly, for about three minutes. Put the fried onions in a deep plate.
4. Pour vinegar and a little oil into the onion, season with sugar, salt and pepper. Mix.
5. In a pan, where the onion was fried, pour out the sunflower seeds and fry until golden brown. Cut the apples into slices.
6. Put the arugula on a serving plate, pour half the dressing with the fried onions, put the baked beets, apple slices on top. Spread the fried bacon on top, sprinkle with seeds and crumble goat cheese. Pour all remaining dressing.
How to cook beets - tips and tricks
After the beets are cooked, cool them under a stream of cold water. So it will be easy to clean.
Do not salt the water when cooking beets, otherwise the root crop will become hard.
If you add a spoonful of oil to the water, the beets will boil faster.
During cooking, make sure that the beets are always completely covered with water. If necessary, add hot boiled water.
When cooking peeled and chopped beets, add a spoonful of lemon juice or vinegar to the water to maintain color.
