Grated raw beetroot with orange
We know it cooked and dark; raw and grated, beetroot is crunchy, sweet, and a brilliant red.
Raw, beetroot keeps its folates and its pigments (betalains) that cooking partly degrades. Finely grated and lifted with orange or lemon, its natural sugar balances with a touch of acidity. A colourful winter salad, quickly ready.
Ingredients
- Raw beetroot2 medium
nice and firm, preferably organic
- Orange juice1 orange
or 1/2 lemon
- Walnut or olive oil2 tbsp
- Squash seeds1 tbsp
optional
- Salt1 pinch
Steps
- 1
Peel and grate
Peel the beetroots (gloves avoid red hands) and grate them finely. Raw, fresh flesh is crunchy, never earthy.
10 min
- 2
Season
Drizzle with the orange juice, oil, and salt. Mix well.
5 min
- 3
Rest
Let it rest 20 minutes in the fridge: the beetroot softens and soaks it up. Scatter with seeds when serving.
20 min
Storage
2 days in the fridge; the juice given off can be kept and drunk.
How to use it
As a winter starter, or as a side to a grain dish.
Health properties
- A source of folates (vitamin B9) and fibre; raw, it keeps more of them than when cooked.
- Rich in natural nitrates and betalain pigments that give it its colour.
These preparations belong to cooking and herbal tradition: they nourish and support, do not “cure” anything and replace no treatment. Ask a doctor or pharmacist before prolonged use, if under treatment, pregnant or breastfeeding, or for a child. Follow the stated storage precautions strictly.
Precautions
Beetroot often colours the urine and stools pink or red (beeturia): this is completely harmless. It is rich in oxalates: to consume in moderation in case of a history of kidney stones.
Sources & tradition
- · Ciqual nutritional composition table (ANSES), raw red beetroot
- · Eastern European culinary tradition