What, will these hands ne'ver be clean? So said Lady Macbeth as she scrubbed her hands obsessively after pulling a ton of beetroot from the garden and washed them. So said she too as she bit into an Australian salad sandwich and spilt canned beetroot juice down her inappropriately innocent white top, and whilst she tried to keep up appearances, worried about whether the damned beetroot scent from straining the can in the sink would ever be sweetened by the perfumes of Arabia, or would forever smell like white vinegar.

Gawd I love her. I am reminded of her naive anticipation of power yet inability to cope with the repercussions of her ruthless cruelty whenever I do a beetroot harvest.

Beetroot seems to me so interminably Australian, possibly because my husband was as horrified as Macduff discovering Duncan's blood laced corpse on the morning after the storm that us Aussies put beetroot in burgers (what's a burger with the lot? he asked) and salad sangas and everything in between. When I lived in the UK, I couldn't find beetroot for love nor money, so I bought some seeds, tenderly raised them and placed them in the cold ground and waited, and waited, and waited - until Rita, the fat pig (literally a pig), stole out of her enclosure across the road and happily snuffled through all of them just at harvest time. So upset I was that the owner of said pig gave me 50 quid, far more than what the beetroot was actually worth in fiat, but far less than it was worth in my heart. I was dreaming of grated beetroot in salads, earthy and delicious, and beetroot leaf spanokopita, and it was cruelly ripped from me like Macduff was untimely ripped from his mother's womb.

However, safely back in Australia where everyone, including pigs, seem to have a healthy respect for beetroot, I'm scheming with the spirits to come to hie thee hither and help me process tons of beetroots grown over winter to make some bloody good beetroot tucker.

First up is beetroot soup - this is well and truly a wombled meal (if you don't know who the Wombles are, ask me to explain this made up verb of ours for you) made from whatever we had in the garden - fennel going to seed, new potatoes, and lots of beetroot.

Note: DO NOT BOIL THE BEETROOT. WE ARE NOT IN THE THE 1500'S.

• Cut into irreverent cubes and lash with olive oil and salt and pepper.
• Roast in oven until tender, like Macduff's heart upon discovering all his pretty ones have been slain by evil tyrant Macbeth.
• Take the beetroot babies and toss them warm in apple cider vinegar and olive oil until you get the taste you so desire - not so tart, and not so oily, but just right.
• Add some garlic (I used chopped scapes, which are just in season now) and some oregano and thyme, preferably fresh.
• Place in a sterilised and sealed preserving jar.

Seriously, roasting the beetroot makes it soooo sweet and almost caramelized.

Dammit, I have no photos of this one, and no time to make it again to show you how fabulous beetroot spanokopita is! Basically, you make ordinary spanokopita, but instead of spinach, you use beetroot leaves. Why anyone would throw these away, I don't know. I get hyper irritated in grocery stores to find beetroot without the tops!

Here is a recipe for spanokopita, if you aren't sure what it is. We used to make it in primary school in Melbourne - I think it was because the Greek mothers would come in and volunteer! I get cravings for a good spanokopita and I'll usually find the best ones in Melbourne Greek restaurants.

https://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/food-safaris-spanakopita

Imagine the picture below, except bloodied with beetroot leaf juice...

Image Source

For the Soup

This was delicious, and especially good as I sprinkled it with an amazing dukkah (for my second bowl). Recipe is approximate only - I very much go by feel.

6 large beetroot
2 potatoes
1 onion or a handful of spring onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 large fennel or a few celery sticks
1 spring of thyme, 1 spring of parsley
1 splash of vinegar or vodka (I used kombucha vinegar)
2 apples
Stock to taste

Saute the fennel and onion in an oil of your choice (I used coconut oil) and sweat with lid on until translucent. Add the rest of the ingredients and cover with water. Simmer until beetroot is very soft, then blend. Serve with vegan sour cream.

Vegan Sour Cream

2/3 cup of coconut milk or cream
1/3 cup of tahini
Juice of 1 lemon
Pinch of salt

If you missed @artemislives' amazing post on beetroot this week, go check it out here. She runs through testing for low stomach acid with beetroot juice. To be honest, this whole beetroot cooking frenzy started when I realised I didn't have a blender for this juice, and had to whip up some beetroot recipes anyway to use up the glut in my garden.

Do you have some great beetroot recipes worth sharing?

Do you grow beetroot and/or relish it like I do?

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