Rory O’Connell’s Piquante Beetroot

This recipe by Rory O'Connell demonstrates a great way to serve beetroot as an accompanying vegetable. It is excellent served with white fish such as hake or cod.

1. To begin, trim the leaves off the beetroot leaving 2 cm of the stalks still attached to the beetroot. Wash gently and thoroughly with your hands under a cold running tap.
2. Place the beets in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Add a good pinch of salt and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cover with a lid. Cook until the beets are tender. Depending on the age and size of the beets, they can take between 20 minutes and 2 hours to cook. When they are cooked, the skins will rub off easily or they will feel tender when pierced with a small knife or skewer.
3. Allow the beetroot to cool and rub off the skins and stalks.
4. Cut the beets into neat slices, dice or wedges. Place in a saucepan with the butter, cream, lemon juice or red wine vinegar and season with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar.
5. Bring to a bare simmer to heat through and season. The beets can be prepared ahead to this point and reheated later.
6. Serve in a hot serving dish scattered with chopped chives.