PICKLED BEETS

PREPARATION

• Remove the tops from the beetroot, and cook separately. They make a delicious spinach. Pressure-cook the beets for about 15 minutes depending on size, or just boil until tender.

• Drain the beets, rinsing them in cold water. Use your fingers to slip the peels off of the beets, and discard. Slice the beets.

• Make a vinaigrette by whisking the vinegar, sugar, olive oil, salt and dry mustard. Combine beets and vinaigrette in a bowl and allow to marinade for a half hour and, hey presto, you have your pickled beets.

GROWING BEETS

Either use a site which was well-prepared for a previous crop, particularly legumes which add nitrogen to the soil, or dig the soil well the previous autumn and let the winter frost break it up even more.

When digging, remove as many stones as possible - the roots like to grow without restriction.

Beetroot can be sown when the danger of hard frost has passed. Plant in small batches up until mid-July or you will end up with too many.

Before sowing, soak just enough seeds for immediate planting in water for an hour or so. With a trowel, scoop out a line in the soil about 2.5cm deep, spacing the lines about 30cm apart. Beets need plenty of sunshine. Space the seeds in the lines 5cm (2in) apart and cover with soil. Water if the soil is dry.

The seedlings will appear in about two weeks, depending on the weather. Each seed planted will result in a cluster of three or four seedlings. Remove the weakest seedlings, leaving only the strongest for each seed sown.

The young seedlings may well attract the unwanted attention of birds. If your area is troubled, it is best to cover them in netting for a while or whatever is your best method. Clear plastic plastic bottles with the top and bottom cut off and placed over the seedlings when they emerge is a good method if you plant only a few seeds.

Beetroot will definitely appreciate a thorough watering if the conditions become dry. This will encourage them to grow quickly and the roots will be more tender and tasty. Luckily enough, little weeding should be required because the foliage of beetroot is dense enough to keep most weeds at bay.

Don't let them grow too woody. Young beets are best, and don't forget the leaves.

SOLUBLE FIBRE