Beetroot's unrepentantly earthy flavours need something bright and acidic to bring harmony and balance to a recipe. And that is what it usually gets, in the form of vinegar and pickling spice, sour-cream dressings, yogurt and goat's cheeses. A current favourite of mine is to fold thin threads of grated beetroot into yogurt for serving with pork steaks, or as I did last night, a lentil curry.
A little beetroot goes a long way. I like to bake them whole, in aroasting tin under a sheet of foil, then slip off their skins, slice and dress them, still warm, with a fruit vinegar – raspberry is good. If the leaves are still bright and bushy then I will steam them, stems and all, chop them a little, and dress with olive oil, lemon and ashowering of chopped dill.
I took the dill route this time with a mustard-seed dressing for a batch of beetroot fritters. This root likes oily fish – pickled, it is splendid with grilled mackerel – and so I teamed my little fritters up with a few slices of shop-bought gravlax, the salmon cured with salt and dill. I'm not a canapé kind of guy, but a friend pounced on the idea as being just as suitable for posh nibbles as for the light lunch for which they were intended. Either way they are sweet, earthy, crisp and delicious.
A more frugal and sustaining meal came in the form of a mild curry with turmeric, cumin and sweetly soft garam masala. With no heat to speak of, the lentils just warmed and satisfied us on a nippy evening. I cooked the lentils first in boiling unsalted water, as I find they often don't soften properly if they are cooked in the sauce itself. Better I think to give them a good boiling, letting them finish cooking in the sauce.
Ten years ago, beetroot was almost a goner. Available then only in pickles or occasionally in vacuum packs of four cooked and preserved globes, it is firmly in the spotlight now. It is almost impossible to find a menu that doesn't acknowledge its newfound popularity. At Bibendum it comes with cured herrings and warm potato salad, St John serves it with boiled egg and anchovies, and at River Cottage delis you find it in a sandwich with goat's cheese and thyme. Vivid pink gratins are splattered over the tablecloths of many a restaurant and café from one end of the country to the other.
In many ways, goat's cheese – something young, sharp and fresh, such as Ticklemore, Dorstone, Sleightlett or Childwickbury if you are at a specialist cheese stall; any soft, young goat's cheese if you're not – is a perfect partner for the sweet notes of beetroot. That pleasing hit of sourness is just what you need. Balance is nigh on inan essential in any dish, but particularly when one of the ingredients is particularly sweet, which is why so many recipes for the more sugary roots such as carrots, beets and parsnips contain something lemony, vinegary or lactic. It's a simple enough strategy, but one that might continue beetroot's rise to lasting acceptance.
Brown lentil curry, beetroot raita
There is no reason you couldn't take this recipe one step further and add grated beetroot to the curry itself, but the colour would be a little too much for some. Better I think, is the idea of adding it as a raita once the curry is on your plate. Brown rice would make a nutritious accompaniment, but I am not sure it is entirely necessary. We scooped ours up with warm flatbreads.
Serves 4
large green or brown lentils 250g
fresh ginger or galangal a 60g piece
garlic 4 cloves
cumin seeds 1 tsp
ground coriander 1 tsp
garam masala 3 heaped tsp
red chillies 2 small
ground turmeric 1 tsp
rapeseed oil about 2 tbsp
onion 1, medium
tomatoes a 400g can, chopped
For the raita:
yogurt 200ml, natural and unstrained
beetroot coarsely grated, 4 heaped tbsp
coriander to taste
Bring the lentils to the boil in a pan of deep, unsalted water, then let them simmer for 20-25 minutes, until they are quite soft.
Peel the ginger or galangal, roughly chop it then put it into the bowl of a food processor with the peeled garlic, cumin seeds, ground coriander, garam masala, red chillies, ground turmeric and enough vegetable oil to make a soft, but not runny, paste.
Peel and finely slice the onion. Warm a tbsp or two of oil in a medium, heavy-based casserole over a moderate heat. Add the onion and let it colour, stirring from time to time. When it is fragrant, golden and almost soft pour in the chopped tomatoes and a can of water, add salt, and the drained, cooked lentils and leave to simmer for half an hour or so. The lentils should be soft but still retaining a little of their texture; the sauce thick.
To make the raita, put the yogurt into a small bowl, add the grated beetroot and a few leaves of coriander if you wish, then very gently fold the beetroot through the yogurt with a fork. Try not to over mix, unless you actually like vivid pink.
Beetroot fritters, gravlax
Makes 6, enough for 2 or 3 people
red or golden beetroot 350g
onion 1
plain flour 2 tbsp
egg 1, beaten
oil for cooking
gravlax or smoked salmon 500g
For the dressing:
grain mustard 1 tbsp
smooth Dijon 1 tbsp
dill 2 tbsp, chopped
rapeseed oil 5 tbsp
water 1 tbsp
Make the dressing by gently whisking together (or shaking in a tightly lidded jar) the mustards, chopped dill, oil and water. Set aside.
Scrub the beetroots thoroughly, then grate them coarsely. The medium grater on a food processor may be best to get thin, long shreds. Peel the onion and slice it finely, stirring it into the beetroot. Season, then stir in the flour and egg.
Warm a shallow film of oil in a nonstick frying pan. Carefully drop generous spoonfuls of the mixture into the oil, flattening them down with the back of the spoon as you go. Leave them to cook over a moderate heat for a couple of minutes until just starting to crisp a little, then with the help of a palette knife or fish slice, turn them over quickly and cook the other side. Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper.
Cut the gravlax into large slices and divide among the fritters. Spoon over some of the dill dressing.
Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk or visit theguardian.com/profile/nigelslater for all his recipes in one place
