Cookery Elisabeth Luard
My current favourite is the ‘golden’ beetroot, which is sweeter than the red, though germination is less consistent. I also find that while red beetroot can be lifted in autumn and successfully stored in peat or sand, the yellow specimens go soft more quickly once they are taken out of the ground. The variety ‘Burpees Golden’ has an orange skin and yellow flesh and keeps its colour when cooked.
From my childhood I remember being given large slices of red beetroot that had been boiled and then floated in malt vinegar. However, we treat beetroot with more ingenuity these days. Whether storing or preparing the roots for cooking, it is important to twist off the stalks; if cut they may bleed. I find baking them in foil, with a little oil, is preferable to boiling. About ninety minutes in a hot oven, depending on their size, should be enough to soften the beetroot so that the skin can be peeled or rubbed off with one’s hands.
At this time of year beetroot may be best eaten hot: sliced and grilled from its raw state, accompanying a joint of beef with horseradish and sour cream, or made into borscht for a chilly autumnal evening. In France this summer I enjoyed a few betteraves cultivées, cold with olive oil and garlic, while raising a glass to that great family of beetroot botanists.
COOKERY ELISABETH LUARD SCANDI FEAST
Hej, hej to the ultra-fashionable Nordic kitchen – so suitable for the winter months. The basics of the Scandinavian culinary habit are simple: cook what’s available and make the best of it. This applies to Magnus Nilsson at Fäviken and René Redzepi at Noma as much as it did to every Scandinavian housewife limited by a short growing season and the need to fill the storecupboard in summer to carry a household through the winter.
Sweden’s smorgasbord is a self-service meal made up of several dishes set on the table at the same time. Mostly these are cold, ranging from pickled herrings to smoked meats, raw fish and berry compotes. When throwing a party in rural regions, guests traditionally bring their own contributions, so as not to empty anyone’s winter storecupboard all in one go. So sensibly Scandinavian.
Good manners require that first to be sampled are herring salads: bite-sized pieces of sweet-cured matjes herrings folded with diced vegetables dressed with soured cream or a mustardy remoulade. Next come the cold cuts – salt-cured lamb, smoked reindeer tongue, gravadlax – eaten with crispbread and butter. Something hot might be as simple as boiled or mashed or gratin potatoes or a dish of meatballs or wild mushrooms. Here are a couple of Swedish winter specials. Acceptable refreshment is beer with an akvavit chaser. Skol. Swedish mushroom gratin A creamy potato gratin layered with woodland mushrooms. Serves 6–8 as part of a smorgasbord, 3–4 as a main dish. 1 kg Desiree or King Edward potatoes, peeled and matchsticked 500g onions, slivered vertically 250g fresh porcini mushrooms, sliced or cultivated chestnut mushrooms, sliced 1 tsp dried thyme About 100g unsalted butter 500ml double cream Salt and pepper 2 tbsp toasted breadcrumbs Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/GAS 4. Lightly salt the mushrooms in a colander and leave to drain. Sauté the onions gently in a little butter without browning. Butter an ovenproof dish and cover the bottom with a layer of potatoes, then add half the onions, a pinch of thyme, pepper, salt and half the mushrooms. Repeat with a second layer and finish with a layer of potatoes, patted flat. Heat the cream with some milk and pour it over the potatoes until it is almost visible. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and a few scraps of butter. Bake for about an hour, till the top is crusty. Swedish gingerbread The Swedish Christmas cake. Serves 6-8 125g softened butter 250g soft dark brown sugar 3 medium eggs 225g self-raising flour 1 tsp powdered cinnamon 1 tsp powdered ginger ½ tsp powdered cloves About 150ml soured cream Butter and breadcrumbs Pre-heat the oven to 325F/170C/GAS 3. Beat the butter and the sugar together in a warm bowl until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs alternately with the flour, sieved with the spices, and enough soured cream to keep the texture soft and airy.
Butter a 1kg loaf-tin and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Spoon in the mixture. Allow 15 minutes in the medium oven, then drop the temperature to 250F/130C/GAS 2 for another 30 minutes or so, till the cake is well risen and firm to the touch. Good in a week, better still by Christmas.