Don't BEET About the Bush

by Katie Forster

Beetroots are at their best at this time of year. Unfortunately people seemed to find this purple root a little intimidating when it comes to cooking it yourself. Which is a huge shame as beetroot is available everywhere from Oliver’s to you’ your local market in Hong Kong. Maybe it’s the extraordinary colour or that we don’t associate beetroots with warm weather that puts people off… Yes, if a beetroot was a person it would most certainly be a ginger. But we should not be put off by beetroots or ginger people so here is a fab recipe that is perfect for summer. It’s also fool-proof. If you don’t have an oven you can use the jarred stuff. Serve this to your pals as a pre-dinner snack and feel unabashedly smug telling them how eeeeeasy it was to whip up something so gorgeous.

Beetroot and Goat’s Cheese Dip

400g of beetroot
1 bulb garlic
Olive oil
5 sprigs of thyme, leaves only
300g of soft goats cheese (rindless)
Salt and pepper to season

Preheat your oven to 200C or Gas Mark 6. Trim the leaves and root from the beetroot and rub the skin with oil. Rub the outside of the garlic bulb olive oil as well and place with the beetroot in a roasting tin. Cover with foil. Roast for about an hour – use a toothpick to test whether they are fully cooked. You should be able to push it easily into the centre of the beetroot. Allow the beetroot to cool and then put on a pair of rubber gloves and slip the skins off. Look at your hands. If you ignored my rubber glove advice you’re going to feel like an idiot right now. No one will snog you if you have purple hands. Chop up the beetroot into rough chunks and chuck into a food processor. Add a couple of glugs of olive oil, thyme leaves and pulpy roasted garlic by squeezing each clove. Blitz until smooth. If you don’t have a food processor you can mash this all together with a fork but it will take some time! Add the cheese last and give it another blitz until smooth. BEAUTIFUL PINK. Season to taste. Serve with fresh raw vegetable batons or crusty bread. Deeelish!
 

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