Baked Beetroot with Local Honey and Thyme

Some days you get a bonus!  Last week when I had a few days off work, a neighbour saw me and offered me some of the huge crop of beetroot that he had grown in his garden.  His car boot was full of beetroot and he reckoned he was feeding half the village.  I certainly wasn't going to turn down these beauties which I saw him pull from the ground just a few minutes before I took these photographs.

I made Beetroot Chutney with the biggest of the beets, like this monster above.  I kept the four best beets to bake.  I cleaned the worst of the earth off them in a bucket outside, then removed the leaves and scrubbed them.  You can bake them as they are but I like to wrap them in foil to save them from burning or drying up.  The baking time depends on the size of the beetroot, I cooked mine at 180C for an hour and a half.  When the beetroot is cooked, take them out of the foil and while still warm, slip off the skins (I usually wear rubber gloves, otherwise you end up with purple hands) and quarter the beets.


Place the quartered beetroot into an ovenproof dish and spoon over two teaspoons of good local honey, 1 tbsp of rapeseed or other light oil and a tsp of fresh thyme leaves.  Put this back into the oven for about 5 minutes to warm through, then add 2 tsp of balsamic vinegar.


This is the fabulous local honey I used from John Mellis Apiaries at Auldgirth.  It is thick but not grainy, the flavour is intense and so good.  A little goes a long way and I'm guarding it carefully from Mr Farmer who would have it finished in a matter of a couple of days.

I'm entering this recipe for Shop Local, the Blogging Challenge run by Elizabeth's Kitchen.

 I'm also entering this for Cooking with Herbs, the monthly blogging challenge run by Karen at Lavender and Lovage, for any recipe cooked with herbs.

Labels: baked beetroot, beetroot, honey, Shop Local, thyme

posted by Janice @ 07:30 11 Comments

Food Bloggers go to the Ayr Races

Chapter Three - Food Bloggers go to the Ayr Races - or more accurately to Ayr Racecourse, the superb venue for the Taste of Ayrshire Food Bloggers Conference.
What does this empty plate say to you?  For me it is the sign of a good meal.

Executive Chef for the Western House Hotel and Ayr Racecourse, Donald McInnes is used to catering to the highest standards, he has worked at the Savoy in London and in Lyon in France.  Donald told us that chefs have to learn to respect food, and that to retain the flavour they need to keep it simple.  

Our conference was held in one of the Princess Royal private boxes overlooking the racecourse.  That's not a real horse, just  a little silhouette as part of the balcony railing.

And they're coming round the bend...where?  Well they soon will be as the racecourse is a busy place with regular races. Coming up on  20th - 22nd of September is the Ayr Gold Cup, their most important event of the year.
This was our table laid out just as it will be for diners at the Gold Cup.
Thanks to Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes for this photo of the three stoodges Louise from Please Do not Feed the Animals, me and Stuart from Cakey Boi

Our lunch came from the menu for the Ayr Gold Cup. Donald told us about how they will prepare this menu for 1200 people every day of the Gold Cup, a total of 3,500 - 4000 covers from 6 kitchens.


Our starter was a Warm Butternut Squash and Beetroot Tart with Ricotta Cheese with piccalilli and beetroot dressing.  The pastry was crisp and the sweet flavours of the beetroot and butternut squash combined with the creamy cheese made it my favourite course of the meal. (see empty plate above)
The main course of Duo of Roast Sirloin of Cairnhill Farms Beef, a medallion of Scotch Sirloin with Braised Beef Tian served with a Peppercorn Sauce was slightly less successful.  While the Tian of Beef had been cooked down so it melted in your mouth and the sauce was very good,  my sirloin was a bit overcooked, dry and chewy which was  a real pity. 
Jacqueline declared this Ratatouille with Granola and Cheese topping to be delicious, although I felt that it was an unsinspiring and conservative vegetarian option for this level of cuisine. 

For dessert we had a rich Chocolate and Toasted Almond Mouse with Chantilly cream, Toffee Sauce and a chocolate tuille (at least that is what is says on the menu, I wouldn't call that chocolate cigarillo a 'tuile' but hey ho, it was very tasty.
The mouse was very soft and had almost a coffee flavour, the little chocolate pot had quite a thick base and some people had difficulty breaking it, but the chocolate was good and there was just enough as the flavours were intense.

I'd like to thank Ayr Racecourse and their chefs for a very good lunch, oh yes and the glass of wine ;-)

What would you choose from the Gold Cup Menu?

Labels: Ayr Racecourse, beetroot, butternut squash, Gold Cup, peppercorn, sirloin beef, tart chocolate mousse, Taste of Ayrshire

posted by Janice @ 18:30 4 Comments

Beetroot with Chorizo, Feta and Mint

This recipe has been inspired by a recipe from BBC Good Food July 2012.  However, I made some changes in the method to suit my own purposes!

Labels: balsamic vinegar, beetroot, chorizo, feta cheese, Herbs on Saturday, mint, salad

posted by Janice @ 19:54 5 Comments

Random Recipes - Beetroot and Black Cumin Soup

Labels: beetroot, Fabulicious food, Moro, Random Recipes, Sam and Sam Clark, Soup

posted by Janice @ 21:53 13 Comments