Today is another gorgeous and sunny winter’s day in London. I just love the blue sky and low light of the winter sun. Last week was the start of the Christmas party season and I thought it would be good to send you a nice juice recipe to show your liver some love.
Beetroot has got high levels of the powerful antioxidant betacyanin, which stimulates the detoxification process in the liver and the fiber content it is especially beneficial for the colon. On top of that beetroot is packed with vitamins and minerals that give you an all over antioxidant boost of goodness.
These little red roots are quite potent, so it is better to start small and mix it with other fruit or vegetables, carrots or apples work a treat . I chose carrots as I want to use the pulp for making brownies afterwards. Adding ginger will give the juice a nice bite and also soothes the stomach and digestive system. Its vitalizing powers make the day after a Christmas party just that little bit brighter.
The concept of using the pulp originates from my love for using left overs and creating something new. When I first started juicing I saw all the pulp left over, which essentially is the fiber and thought: ‘ I cannot possibly throw all this goodness away !’. Beetroot pulp brownies are deliciously moist, very light and super easy to make. Starting off with the juice you only need the following:
Beetroot, Carrot & ginger juice- serves 2
3 medium size beets
4 medium size carrots
3 cm of ginger
dash of lemon juice
Peel beetroot ( wearing rubber gloves or remove stains with lemon juice afterwards), carrots & ginger; cut into smaller pieces to fit the feeding hole of your juicer and start juicing. Keep the pulp for the brownies. It will be best to pass the ginger through the juicer first, so you can easily remove it in order to make the brownies. I often leave the ginger in the mix but it does definitely give the brownie a distinctive ginger taste, adding some cinnamon will make it a Christmas brownie version.
With all this energy you can start making the brownies right aferwards, it shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes to prepare them, baking time around 25 minutes, done. If you don’t have time to make them straight away, you can store the pulp in the fridge for up to 3 days, just put into an air tight container.
Beetroot pulp brownies – makes 12
Juice pulp of 3 medium sized beets & 4 carrots ( ginger removed-optional)
100g unsalted butter (coconut oil for vegan recipe)
200g bar plain chocolate (70% cocoa- raw for vegan version)
1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla pod
75g dark caster sugar ( 50g of soaked dates 100ml maple sirup or agave syrup )
3 eggs ( vegan: 1 tbsp ground Flax seeds +3 tbsp Water =1 egg)
100g buckwheat flour mixed with 1 tsp of baking powder
75g cocoa powder ( raw if vegan) & 100g walnuts
Cocoa powder , icing sugar & cinnamon for topping the brownies
Method:
Heat up the beetroot and carrot pulp mix with 250ml of water, add vanilla extract and 2 tbsp of maple sirup to the mix. Once heated up set a side. Pre-heat the oven at 160c/180c fan/gas4 and layer the brownie tin with baking paper. Cut butter into small cubes, break the chocolate into small pieces and put together with hot beetroot pulp and soaked dates into a food processor or blender; blend until smooth. Next mix eggs and sugar in a large bowl for around 2 minutes until it gets a foam like consistency. Now add the beetroot chocolate mix and fold gently under the eggs using a wooden spoon, this process is not one for looks, it will turn out pretty in the end though. Add the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder and fold under the batter until smooth. Make sure the flour and chocolate are sifted well as to not get a ‘bumpy’ mixture.
Finally add the walnuts ( cut into smaller pieces) and also carefully fold under. Now poor the batter into the brownie tin and bake for 25-30 minutes, check they are done using a knife, it needs to come out clean, so no batter sticking to the blade.
Leave to cool down before cutting into squares. You can sprinkle cinnamon, coco powder or some icing sugar to decorate. They are super delicious enjoyed with a chai tea or latte .
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