what to do with fresh beetroot...& a lovely couscous

...roast it!

Although there are many lovely Borscht style recipes for fresh beetroot, with my sporadic and small harvest of baby beets and with a slight fear of pink stained fingers, home, and worse still, toddler...It has to be quick, easy and relatively mess-free for me.

Roasting beetroot is simple as;

Wash beetroot,

Chop off the leaves and tail,

{small baby leaves can be eaten raw in salads and larger leaves can be steamed or stir fried}

Place beets on a piece of tin foil,

Season with salt and pepper,

Wrap tin foil around beets,

Place on a baking tray and bake in the oven at 200°C for 1 - 1½ hours or until tender,

I sometimes pinch the skins off when baked but this isn't necessary.

A lovely couscous

Ingredients:

2 large carrots, peeled and sliced into discs,

4 baby beets, roasted as above then quartered,

1 tbsp runny honey

1 orange, grated zest and juice,

A handful of fresh dill, roughly chopped,

175g couscous,

175ml vegetable or chicken stock.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Place the chopped carrots into a small roasting dish with a glug of olive oil and the honey and roast,  for  20 mins or until tender.

Put the couscous into a large mixing bowl and pour over the hot stock. Cover the bowl with cling film and put aside for 5 mins or until the liquid has all been absorbed.

Fluff up the couscous with a fork and stir in the honeyed carrots and beetroot and finally add the orange juice and zest and chopped dill. Mix together, season and serve while still warm.