BRAISED BEETS WITH EMMER

Beetroot is somewhat undervalued in modern British cuisine, often forgotten about because society is now so used to having a more exotic range of produce from far flung corners of the glove available on shelves all year round. But did you know that beetroot is extremely well-suitable to the environmental conditions found here in the UK, being robust enough to thrive in a wide range of soils means it can be grown all over the country.

Furthermore, beets offer a brilliant range of health properties. This iconic root veg is known to be a good way to reduce inflammation, can improve cardiovascular function and also can us to reduce blood pressure (source).

We recently discovered a beet backlog in our fridge at home, so I dived into our cookbooks for inspiration on how to use them and came across this simply, hearty recipe that I adapted to fit with what we have available in the shops. We’ve used British-grown emmer (aka farro), which is a type of wheat that’s been used for millenia. Emmer can of course be ground into flour and turned into bread, but can also be consumed wholegrain and eaten as a side in place of rice. Emmer is also nutritionally beneficial as it packed with fibre, protein, iron, magnesium and zinc, making this simple dish a midweek marvel.

Next week we'll have organic beetroots available that have grown over in Ormskirk at Royal Oak Farm, who supply to some of the top restaurants around Manchester. Veg boxes that are ordered via our web shop for either delivery or collection will contain the beets and fennel needed to make this dish and the onion and garlic can be added too.

If you’re a big fan of beetroot (or you also have an abundance!) you can also try our recipe for Polish style borscht soup here.

INGREDIENTS (serves four)

• 150g wholegrain emmer

• 1 large red onion

• Olive oil

• Half a head of garlic

• 3 large beetroots, peeled and cut into roughly 3cm pieces

• 1 head of fennel, trimmed and finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon tomato puree

• Large glass of red wine

• 150ml water

• 1 tablespoon vegetable bouillon or stock cube

• Salt and pepper

• 1 tablespoon rosemary (or fresh from your garden)

• 1 tablespoon thyme (or fresh from your garden)

• 1 bay leaf

METHOD

1. Start by getting the emmer on. It cooks more or less the same way as you would rice, so use a small saucepan and give it a quick rinse then cover it with cold water so that it comes to around 1cm above the grains. Add in a bit of salt then bring to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat to a very slow simmer, cover and leave it to cook through (this should take around 25-30 minutes).

2. In a separate, large frying pan that you have a lid for caramelise the chopped onion in a healthy glug of olive oil, then add the garlic and fennel for a couple of minutes until they start to soften.

3. Next, add the chopped beetroot with a good grind of salt and pepper and mix everything together.

4. Spoon in the tomato puree and allow this too cook briefly as well before adding the wine and allowing it to coat all of the veg and come up to temperature.

5. Once the wine is bubbling, go in with the rest of the water and the bouillon or stock cube and the herbs. Stir everything together and bring it to a slow boil, then put the lid on and reduce the heat to medium.

6. It should take around 25-30 miuntes to cook through. Make sure the beetroot is cooked all the way through and the liquid has reduced to a sauce. If it’s still watery remove the lid and raise the temperature slightly to reduce further.

7. Serve the braised beetroot directly on top of the grains as you would a curry!