Beetroot puree

Serves: 4

Ingredients

  • 4 medium beetroots
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Zest and juice of an orange
  • Small bunch of fresh mint or small dollop of horseradish
  • Squeeze of lemon

Take each beetroot and lightly oil and place in an ovenproof saucepan with a tight-fitting lid and bake in a medium oven until soft through. This can take anything from 20 minutes to an hour depending on the time of year and the age of the beets.

Once the beets are soft through when pierced with a knife, remove from the oven and allow to cool.

When cooled, peel and roughly chop and place in a food processor along with a little olive oil, a good pinch of salt and pepper and the zest and juice of the orange (or mint or horseradish).

Blitz for a minute until it all looks smooth. Taste it and add more oil and or seasoning to get the balance right. This is where adding a squeeze of lemon will bring it all together by cutting the sweetness of the beets and orange.

Store in the fridge until needed, removing it 30 minutes before eating to come to room temperature.