livinghubb

IT'S known for its startlingly red flesh, and the beetroot is an interesting vegetable once you know how to cook it.

The unassuming root vegetable is quite versatile. Roasted, it can be sliced and added to salads for a bright splash of colour.

It is also used in borscht, a hearty Eastern European stew with meat and vegetables like carrots, cabbage and potatoes. In Indian cuisine, beetroot is used in chutneys and curries.

It contains virtually no fat, has few calories and is rich in iron and Vitamin C. The flesh is also a good source of fibre.

I was inspired to make beetroot agar agar recently for a health-conscious friend. Instead of using artificial food colouring, I relied on the vivid hue of the vegetable to give the jelly a deep, red colour.

To mask the rather earthy taste of beetroot, I added water chestnuts and bamboo sugar cane to the pot and boiled them with it.

Since all three ingredients are naturally sweet, I could cut down on the sugar used in the jelly later.

To add a little crunch to my dessert, I added cubes of Nata de Coco, a chewy coconut jelly. These white cubes provided a nice contrast to the red beets.

If you don't want to go on to make the jelly, add some rock sugar during the last 10 minutes of boiling time and you get a refreshing drink which can also be served cold.

When buying beetroot, choose firm roots that have a deep maroon colour and unbroken skin. They will usually have part of the stalk and leaves attached.

Cut off the stalk and trim off the bottom end. Brush it clean with a vegetable brush and leave the skin on. Then cut into chunks and put them into the pot straightaway or the colour will leach into the cutting board, staining it a bright red that is not easy to remove.

If you want the agar agar to have a deeper colour, cook the beetroot and the other ingredients a few hours before making the jelly, and let it sit in the pot for about two hours.

This allows the red colour to 'bleed' more. I usually cook it the night before and make the jelly the next day.

BEETROOT JELLY



Ingredients

2.5 litres water

1 medium-sized beetroot, stalk cut off, skin on, scrubbed clean and cut into chunks

500g water chestnuts, tops and bottoms trimmed, skin on, scrubbed clean and cut into half each

1 stalk bamboo sugar cane, from any wet market. Ask the vendor to cut into 10cm sections so it will fit into the pot

2 packets Rose brand agar agar powder

360g to 380g sugar, to taste

100g Nata de Coco, rinsed quickly in water and drain well. Quarter each cube.

Method

1. Bring water to a boil in a large pot.

2. Add beetroot, water chestnuts and bamboo sugar cane. Bring back to the boil, turn heat to medium low and simmer 45 minutes, covered.

3. Strain liquid into a medium-sized pot. You'll have about 1.95 litres of beetroot water. If you have less, add water to make up the difference.

4. Let liquid cool a little before adding agar agar powder and sugar. Then bring to a boil, stirring well to dissolve the powder and sugar.

5. Pour the agar agar mixture into any mould or tray you like and add the pieces of Nata de Coco. Leave to cool to room temperature.

6. Put the jelly in the fridge and chill for two to three hours before serving.

http://www.stomp.com.sg/stfoodiesclu.../44/index.html