If someone had of told me a few years ago that I would be a Thermomix consultant I would have laughed until I fell off my chair. At the time, I was never going to own a kitchen appliance that cost $2000 “because there was no way any appliance could be worth that much”.
However, as I mentioned in my last post there are many things that I love about Thermomix and about having my own business as a whole.
I love the fact that my business can help people change their lives, giving them more time, money and looking after their health. I love nothing more than when one of my clients emails me to tell me that they love their Thermomix and couldn’t live without it!
While a lot of what I do is motivated by wanting to help others, there are also some great rewards that I am sincerely grateful for. My absolute favourite part is the free holidays. So far I have been fortunate enough to travel to Hawaii and Hong Kong (all expenses paid) and my Husband has even been able to come along too! Part of the time away is spent attending a conference for a few days which has also been excellent for my business and personal growth. The rest of the time I get to know my fellow consultants, do some shopping and actually have a holiday!
As a consultant we receive a specific monthly Newsletter and along with lots of great information each one has a feature ingredient that we can use to inspire us to create a recipe. Last month is was Beetroot. I’ve never entered before because I usually don’t have time to think about it but I’ve always loved Beetroot so thought, why not! And guess what, I won! Crazy, I know. I wanted to do something a bit unusual and had seen this once before. I had seen Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s recipe for something similar on the River Cottage series. Hugh is a British celebrity chef, television personality, journalist, food writer and “real food” campaigner, known for his back-to-basics philosophy (and he has a Thermomix). So, like so many of my other recipes, a little tweaking and adaptation to the Thermomix and voilà, my Beetroot Chocolate Ice-cream.
beetroot chocolate ice-cream – (recipe adapted by Fiona at Food 4 Thought from here).
makes approximately 1 litre
Ingredients
400 grams raw beetroot peeled and roughly chopped to yield 300g
500 grams water for steaming
100 grams raw sugar
150 grams full cream milk
250 grams cream
100 grams dark chocolate (70%) broken into pieces 150 grams full cream milk
4 whole eggs
Preparation
Place peeled and chopped raw beetroot into simmering basket. Add water to TM bowl and put simmering basket and beetroot in place. Steam on Varoma temperature for 25 – 30 minutes on speed 1. Once cooked, remove basket and set aside. Empty water from TM bowl then rinse and dry the bowl.
Place chocolate into TM bowl and heat at 60°C for 2 1/2 minutes on soft speed. Once melted, remove from bowl and set aside.
Place sugar into TM Bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 9. Scrape around the sides of the bowl then add the beetroot and milk and puree for 45 seconds on speed 9 until smooth. Add cream and whisk for 30 seconds on speed 3. With the blade still running add the eggs one at a time through the hole in the TM lid. Continue to whisk for another 30 seconds.
Cook at 100°C for 7 minutes on speed 4. Add melted chocolate and mix for 10 seconds on speed 4.
Pour into airtight container and freeze for 2-4 hours. When partially frozen, place into TM bowl and remix for 1 minute on speed 5 to give a creamier consistency. Return to airtight container and freeze for a minimum of 8 hours or overnight.
Remove from freezer 15-20 minutes before serving.
My tips/alterations: *Use thick cream if you can, otherwise whipping cream will work. If you find the mixture looks like it has curdled after it is cooked, add an ice cube or a dash of extra cream and blitz it by slowly turning the speed from 1 to 9 then blitz on speed 9 for 30 seconds. It should be silky smooth. *If you would like this to be more of a beetroot colour you can roast the beetroot in some foil until soft. That is the traditional way to do this, but I wanted to do everything in the TM. If you would like this recipe to taste of a little more beetroot then try adding 75 grams of chocolate rather than 100 grams. *If you find it a little icy when you remove it from the freezer just let it sit for 20 – 30 minutes before serving it. You could also top it with some cold coconut milk/cream for a healthy topping. *The longer this stays in the freezer the more icy it seemed to become, so I just left it out before servicing but you could also re-churn it prior to serving.
ease: 7.5 – 8/10. Not too difficult, just a few components.
prep time: 35mins for the beetroot.
cooking time: 15mins for the ice-cream + cooling time.
total: 50 minutes + cooling time.
taste: 9/10. This is a delicious and healthier chocolate ice cream that has a beetroot finish to it. It was really surprising and the more you eat the better it tastes. I think it just takes a minute for your mind to forget you’re eating beetroot in ice-cream!
would I make it again: Yes. I think for something different to share with friends I’d like to make this. Also it is a make ahead dessert, which I always good.
This sounds too good… beetroot and icecream? Surely that’s healthy 🙂 I’ll definitely give it try!
Hi Kate, super healthy, super delicious. Who would have thought 🙂