Fermented beet & thyme

This is taken from the wholepromise website, and is delicious with salad, veggie burgers or grilled fish.  Fermented foods provide essential bacterias that feed the gut for healthy digestion and immunity. Organic products in this case are always preferable.

Ingredients

500g beetroots, washed well and grated
10 sprigs of thyme
Zest of one orange
¼ cup whey *
2 tsp sea salt (salt to taste)

Beet Leaves, washed well (for keeping the beets mixture submerged) – or I used some raw bok choi as I didn’t get the leaves when I bought the beetroot.

Directions

Grate the beets using a grater or food processor and place into a bowl
Combine & mix beets with orange zest, thyme, whey and salt
Spoon into a mason/glass jar and pummel with a wooden spoon or flat topped tool to release of the juices so that the beets are eventually under the liquid
Push the reserved and well washed beets leaves into the jar as tightly as you can to keep the beets immersed below the fluid
Cover loosely (I use a piece of muslin or a chux cloth & an elastic band) and ferment at room temperature for 3 days then transfer to fridge.

* Whey can be strained from organic natural plain yoghurt. To do this, line a sieve with muslin/chux cloth. Spoon the yoghurt into the lined strainer that has been place over a bowl. Cover and leave for a while to allow the whey to drip into the bowl. If you have any spare whey, it will keep in a jar in the fridge for up to a few months.