Guest Author - Marianne Gibson

If the potato is the king of root veg, then I nominate beetroot for the queen. It’s tasty, contains copious vitamins, and is a beautiful ruby red inside. Though it is used year round in Russian cooking, it is invaluable in winter when other nutrition-giving veg is absent or expensive.

To prepare the beetroot;
Take 3-4 fist sized beets, or 2 large ones. Brush off any excess soil and rinse the beetroots in cold water, taking good care not to break the skin. Sit them in a large pot and pour in enough cold water to easily cover them. Bring this to the boil, cover and simmer for 20-40 minutes (the large beets can take up to 40). If you can pierce them to the centre with a fork then they are done. Don’t worry if you’re not sure, beets are perfectly edible raw, so underdone ones will just make your dish a bit crunchy.

Why boil the beetroots whole in their skins? First, beetroots are very difficult to peel when raw and you and your kitchen will likely end up spattered in purple juice. More importantly, if you boil peeled beetroots, the colour will leach out into the water, taking with it the flavour and vitamins, and spoiling your salad.

Drain the beets and plunge them into cold water. Leave them for 10 minutes to cool, changing the water a couple of times. Now slip off the skins and cut the beets in half. Slice quite finely and then cut each slice into thick matchsticks (you can grate the beets if you like, but the texture and flavour will not be the same). Leave the beetroot until cold. This is the base for the salad.


Salad with walnuts and garlic
Cold Beetroot, prepared as above
1-2 cloves of garlic
A handful of peeled walnuts
2 tablespoons mayonnaise OR 1tblsp sunflower oil (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh parsley

Mince the garlic, crush the walnuts and mix into the beetroot. Season, then use the mayonnaise or oil to lightly bind the ingredients together (you can skip this step if you like). Put the salad in the fridge for an hour. It’s important to give the salad this time for the flavours to combine. Serve garnished with parsley.


Salad with prunes and pine nuts
Cold Beetroot, prepared as above
6-8 prunes
A handful of peeled pine nuts
1 tablespoon mayonnaise or smetana (optional)
½ tsp ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh parsley
Soak the prunes until juicy, remove stones and cut the fruits into thin strips, like the beetroot. Crush or grind the pine nuts. Combine all the ingredients and leave in the fridge. Serve garnished with parsley and a few whole pine nuts.

Both these salads look and taste great and can be served alone with rye bread or as part of a range of cold appetizers if you have guests.
Priyatnogo Appetita!