Hugh Fearnley Witthingstall's Beetroot and Chocolate Brownies

Why on earth would you add beetroots to your brownies?
Well, for many good reasons really: 

- If you're on a diet, you should know that they bulk your brownies up without adding anything bad for you, which makes each portion a little less rich. (oui, oui!)

- If you love trying new things without compromising on taste, you should give a shot to this not-so-usual pairing, which doesn't make your brownies taste strange in any way.

- If your main goal is to bake cakes as moist as possible, then beets (like carrots and courgettes) should be your friends.

- If you just want to experience the joy of seeing the faces of your friends, family members and colleagues loving your brownies, and being so surprised when you tell them that there are beetroots in them: go for it, it's worth it!

Hugh Fearnley Witthingstall's 

Beetroot and chocolate brownies

Ingredients

250g unsalted butter, cut into cubes

250g good quality dark chocolate, broken into pieces

3 medium eggs

250g caster sugar

A pinch of salt

150g self-raising flour (wholemeal ideally but white works well too)

250g beetroot, boiled until tender, cooled, peeled and grated (I used sous-vide Sainsbury's beetroots, and drained the water)

100g chocolate, of any colour, for the decoration

How to make the beetroot and chocolate brownies 

1/ Grease a shallow baking tin, approximately 20 x 25cm, and line the base with baking parchment

2/ Put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Set the oven at 180°C/Gas Mark 4 and put the bowl in it for a few minutes until the chocolate and butter start to melt. Stir, then put back in to the oven for a few more minutes to melt completely. Of course, you could melt them together in the traditional way, over a pan of hot water, but you might as well make the most of the warming oven

3/ Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl until combined then beat in the melted chocolate and butter until smooth. Combine the salt with the flour, sift them over the chocolate mixture, then gently fold in with a large metal spoon. Fold in the grated beetroot – be careful not to over-mix or it will make the brownies tough

4/ Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes; when the brownies are done, a knife or skewer inserted in the centre should come out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Don’t be tempted to overcook them or they will be dry

5/ Remove the tin from the oven and leave on a wire rack to cool before cutting in to squares.

Recipe adapted from River Cottage