How long do I boil beets for a vinaigrette?

The classic recipe for vinaigrette is considered a holiday recipe, because on weekdays, cooking beets is time-consuming. They are loved for their sweet taste and undeniable benefits. Beets make for low-calorie dishes that are great for those on a diet. A traditional vinaigrette with boiled vegetables will soften the harmful effects of a heavy meal on the stomach. It takes all day to prepare, but there are ways to speed up the beet cooking process.

One hundred grams of beets contain:

• Fats: 0.1 gr.
• Protein: 1, 5 gr.
• Carbohydrates: 8.8 g.
• Calories: 42 in raw and 47 in boiled.

How to choose beets for a salad

On store shelves, you can often meet a fake: the foraged kind of beets instead of the table kind. In order not to make a mistake, you should give preference to those root vegetables that:

1. The right shape, similar to a flattened ball.
2. With a clean and thin rind, without extraneous spots and rot.
3. Have a bright, rich color.
4. Not packed in plastic bags.
5. Do not smell.
6. No severe cracks or chips.
7. If out of season, there should be no leaves on the beets. The tip on the cut should be large.

The surest sign of beet quality is its hue. It can be more than just purple. The natural pigments in the vegetable allow producers to grow beets in a wide range of colors. There are white varieties, golden, orange, pink, coral, bright purple, and others. Dyes have almost no effect on taste or benefit. Beets are one of the most aesthetic vegetable crops, which please the appearance not only in food, but also during cooking.

In summer and fall, it is advisable to buy beet fruits with leaves. Stems and tops can also be added to salads and soups.

Fodder or sugar beets are grown on an industrial scale for cattle feed. If the size of the root vegetable differs from the classic - it means that this vegetable will be difficult to cook. You can eat it, but such varieties contain an increased amount of fiber and fiber. In addition, cheaper varieties may contain traces of chemicals used in production.

How long do you boil beets?

Beets are the main ingredient of vinaigrette. If it is not cooked, it will spoil the whole dish. The root vegetable is boiled "in the jacket". Modern housewives can use additional features and boil vegetables so:

In a pot.

To make beets soft and retain most of the vitamins, it is boiled in a pot for at least two hours. Cooking time of large varieties increases. Prepared beets are placed in a pot, pour cold water and put on high heat. After boiling, turn down the gas.

Professional cooks advise speeding up the cooking time as follows:

1. Pour cold, filtered water into the pot.
2. Put it on a strong gas. Bring to a boil.
3. In the boiling water put beets.
4. Don't turn down the heat.
5. Add a little sunflower oil to the water.
6. Cook in boiling water for about fifteen minutes.
7. Drain the water and quickly put the pan under an icy stream of tap water. Leave it for twenty minutes.

Unfortunately, this method destroys all the vitamins in beets, so if the nutritional value of the product is important, it is better to cook by the usual method.

In the microwave

The microwave will allow you to cook beets for a salad many times faster. She will need a baking sleeve, which is usually used in the oven. The fact is that in five minutes the sleeve is inflated into a vacuum cocoon and it retains the maximum temperature. This method is suitable for small root vegetables. They need to be pre-washed and cleaned of dirt. Then, put the beets in a sleeve, and tie it on both sides, threads. It is necessary to put it in the microwave for five to six minutes at maximum power. Take it out carefully - there is a serious risk of getting burnt by the steam. Check the readiness with a toothpick. Then peel the beets and cut them into a salad.

In the multicooker

Beets in the multicooker always turn out perfect. There is no need to watch the boil, and the specific smell remains under the lid. The procedure for preparing the beets is almost the same as usual, except that it is allowed to peel and cut the root vegetables into halves or slices.

1. Wash the beets under running water.
2. Place in the bowl of a multicooker and pour water so that the edge exceeds the beet by 1 cm.
3. Turn on the standard mode of boiling or stewing.

Cook beets in the multicooker for just over an hour. After it boils, put it in cold water.

Very tasty beets turn out, if you use the mode "baking". Water is not needed. Peel the beets, grease with vegetable oil and wrap with baking foil. Cook for an hour.

In a steamer.

If you steam cook beets for vinaigrette, in a steam cooker, the vitamin C will be fully preserved. How to do it?

1. Peel the raw tubers.
2. Rinse and brush again, so that the pulp was absolutely clean.
3. Cut into sticks.
4. Put into the bowl of the steamer and run it for twenty minutes.

Unpeeled beets take longer to cook.

Steamed beets can even be eaten with bread. It turns out a delicious and dietary sandwich.

Beet Vinaigrette Recipe

The composition of the favorite salad can vary. The main ingredients are, of course, beets, potatoes, carrots and pickles. And if you add a little color in the form of sausage?

For five servings you would need:

• Small beets - 3 pcs;
• Potatoes - 2-3 pcs;
• Semi-smoked sausage - 160 gr;
• Pickles - 200g;
• Green peas (canned) - 400g;
• Vegetable oil - 6 tbsp;
• Fresh herbs to taste;
• Salt to taste.

How to cook?

1. Boil beets and other vegetables in a pot, steam or in a multicooker. Potatoes for the vinaigrette are boiled separately.
2. Cool the vegetables and peel them.
3. Dice the potatoes.
4. Cut carrots into small pieces too.
5. Slice the beets and pickles.
6. Sausage peel from the film and cut into cubes. It is important to take smoked or semi-smoked. Taste of cooked sausage will be lost in the vinaigrette.
7. Drain the water from the can of green peas.
8. Combine chopped vegetables, cucumbers and sausage.
9. Add the peas.
10. Stir and season. You can make a flavorful vegetable oil or sprinkle with seasonings separately.
11. Stir once more and let stand in the fridge for thirty minutes.