There are foods that polarise: liquorice, dill, blue cheese, brussels sprouts, coriander. Let’s call them Marmite foods. Beetroot is another one. This week, while it is sweet and in season, is the time to cook it (even if it’s on your Marmite list). These recipes use beetroot in a more unusual way. First, a cake pairing it with carrot and pecans for a mellow, textured, just-sweet loaf with a sharp, lemon-and‑orange icing, the other is a beetroot salad loosely based on the flavours of a beetroot thoran, which I serve with yoghurt, and rotis or chapatis for dipping.
Carrot, beetroot and pecan cake (pictured above)
This is everything I want in a cake: texture and sweetness from the beetroot and carrot, crunch from the pecans and crystallised demerara on top. I often make this without the zesty icing, too.
Prep 30 min
Cook 50 min
Makes 1 large loaf cake
180ml light olive oil, plus extra for greasing
50g demerara sugar
80g pecans
120g carrots, peeled and grated
150g raw beetroot, peeled and grated
3 eggs
150g golden caster sugar
200g spelt flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Zest and juice of 1 orange
225g icing sugar
Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/350F/gas 6. Grease a 2lb loaf tin, then scatter in a little of the demerara sugar, saving the rest to top the cake. Move the sugar around the tin so its sides are evenly coated. Toast the pecans for five minutes in the oven, then roughly chop.
Squeeze out any excess water from the carrots and beetroot, then leave the solids in a colander. With an electric whisk or in a stand mixer, beat the eggs and caster sugar until pale and fluffy. Then, with the whisk still running, pour in the oil until fully combined.
Sift all the dry ingredients in another bowl, then, using a spatula or metal spoon, fold this into the egg and sugar mix. Now fold the carrots, beetroot, half the lemon and orange juice and zest, and pecans (leaving a few to top the loaf with) until just combined, being careful not to overmix and knock out the air.
Pour into the prepared tin and scatter with a little more demerara sugar and the remaining chopped pecans. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until deep golden brown and a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre. Leave to cool in the tin.
Once the cake is cool, sift the icing sugar into a bowl, then gradually mix in the remaining juice and zest of both the lemon and orange, until smooth and not too thin. Pour the icing on to the middle section of the cake and let it run down the cake.
Quick Indian beetroot salad
If you are short on time, you could use vacuum-packed cooked beetroot and grate in half a clove of fresh garlic in place of the roasted garlic.
Prep 20 min
Cook 1 hr 5 min
Serves 4 as a side
3 raw beetroot (about 600g)
5 garlic cloves, skins on
1 tbsp ghee or butter
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
6 curry leaves
1 red chilli
1 tsp nigella seeds
Zest and juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper
To serve
100g natural yoghurt
Flatbreads or chapati
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/390F/gas 7. Cut the tops off the beetroot, wrap them in tin foil with the whole garlic cloves, put on a roasting tray and bake for 50-60 minutes, depending on size.
Unwrap the foil to let them cool slightly, then peel off the garlic skins by rubbing the cloves between sheets of kitchen paper; the skins should easily peel away. If they don’t, they may need a little longer in the oven. Peel and chop the cooled, cooked beetroot into chunks and put in a bowl with the garlic, and mix.
In a frying pan on a high heat, melt the ghee or butter. Add the mustard and cumin seeds, curry leaves, red chilli and nigella seeds: they should all crackle with the heat. Fry for one to two minutes, until everything is toasted and crackling nicely, then pour straight on to the beetroot. Squeeze over the lime juice and zest, season well and serve with a dollop of yoghurt and flatbread to soak up the juices.
