you can’t beat beets

In his excellent Food for Life Cookbook, author Tim Spector advises us to ‘eat the rainbow’ – meaning that we should try to eat as many different colours of vegetables and fruits as possible. Variations in hue denote the presence of different combinations of beneficial flavonoids, anthocyanins and carotenoids (known collectively as polyphenols) – and by eating as varied a colour palette as we can, we can ensure that we’re getting a good range of these nutritional goodies.

If you’re keen to follow Professor Spector’s advice, you can’t beat beets! They offer almost the full spectrum all by themselves, in beautiful shades of deep purple, violet, magenta, white, gold, and variegated pink. Use a mix of baby roots for an elegant starter, or serve a multicoloured salad of roasted beetroot chunks, sliced oranges, fresh walnuts and a mixture of salad leaves. You already have an entire rainbow on your plate!

Harvesting beetroot in my Cardiff garden

If we’re eating the rainbow, then it follows that we should also be growing the rainbow. Beetroot likes either full or partial sun, and a fertile soil enriched with plenty of compost to keep it moist. Sow the seeds outside from April onwards, and water plentifully until they have germinated. Harvest the largest beetroots first to give the others more time to grow – and don’t forget the leaves! When young and succulent, they’re excellent in a salad or as part of a good soup. Store the harvested roots in a cool and dark place – a cellar, for those of us lucky enough to have one, is excellent. Or, as long as long as there isn’t a frost, they can be ‘stored’ in the ground.

It’s our family tradition to start Christmas dinner with a clear beetroot soup – delicious but not too filling! But beets aren’t just for the winter: when asparagus is in season, I love to grill it with baby beetroots and halloumi. For the more mature larger beetroots, I like to bake them in the oven at 200°C in a roasting tin with about 5cm of water in it, covered with silver foil carefully crimped around the edge to prevent the moisture from escaping. Escape it will, though, so keep an eye on the water level from time to time and add a little more if necessary.