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Beetroot is beautiful! (or beets as they say across the pond) Forget those awful purple beads in horrid jars of cheap vinegar.  Beetroots are one of my favourite vegetables and prepared correctly can be a real delicacy.  Apart from roasting like a potato, or grating raw and mixing with a little mayonnaise, or making into borscht, beetroots can be lovely made simply and lightly dressed to make a delicious accompaniment to any meal

Ingredient

• 1 1/2 kg of beetroot (about a bunch of 5 small-medium sized vegetables)
• 2 tsps cider vinegar
• pinch of salt
• 2 tsps sugar
• juice of half a small lemon

Method:

1. Take your beetroot (I got mine straight from the front garden) and wash them well in cold water to remove any mud/compost/bits etc.   Take your time and be thorough.
2. Cut off some of the green leaf, however do not top and tail the beetroots or the colour will bleed out in the water.  Also if from the garden cut away some of the straggly root, otherwise leave in tact.
3. Place the washed beetroots into a pressure cooker and add enough water to almost cover the vegetables.
4. Bring to pressure and then cook on the lowest light for 15 minutes.
5. To de-pressurise carefully (it will be heavy!) place the pressure cooker in a large bowl of cold water.  The pressure cooker pressure indicator should drop (well it does on mine), and you should be able to safely get the lid off.
6. Don’t be tempted to use the fast de-pressurise function as this can lead to purple water shooting out the vent!
7. Using a slotted spoon remove the cooked beetroots from the pressure cooker and place in shallow dish.
8. Put down plenty of newspaper for rubbish, and wearing rubber washing up gloves gently slough off the beetroot skins and leaf tops.  This should be really easy now.  Don’t try this with bare hands it is not manly – it is daft and dangerous as the vegetables will be very hot!
9. Now using an egg slicer slice the beetroot into a glass dish.
10. Add the seasoning and other flavourings.  It is a good idea to do this whilst the beetroot are still warm because they will more readily absorb the flavours.
11. Allow to cool and then keep in the fridge for a day or so.  Beetroots cooked in this manner go so well with a nice piece of salmon or some cold meat

Just to be a bit different I thought I would take some close up pictures of the garden at Casa Marge.  I am quite impressed with how well the yellow courgettes and beetroots have done this year.  I have a feeling the late star of the show will be the aubergine which have successfully flowered and are beginning to show signs of fruiting.