Beetroot

It's in season and it turns everything in your kitchen, hands included, a hilarious colour of pink, how could anyone not love beetroot (or 'beets' to our american cousins)? Every time I eat beetroot I feel like a 'proper adult' as I never ate it as a child. My sister and I weren't allowed; presumably and quite rightly, because we would have ended up getting that pink stain all over our clothes and the wallpaper.

I like to cook it in the oven (remember to keep the leaves, good alternative to spinach). Give them a scrub to get off any soil but keep the skin intact. Wrap in kitchen foil and put in a hot oven (Gas 6), smaller ones may only need half an hour but bigger ones may take quite a lot longer, when you can pierce them with a knife easily they're done. Once cool enough to handle remove the skins.

Things I will be doing with beetroot:

Red flannel hash - it isn't red and there certainly is no flannel involved but this is basically the name for corned beef hash with added beetroot. I am still slightly appaled by the dog food like quality of corned beef but fiance-dearest encouraged me to try it and I do now find it a bit of a guilty pleasure. (On a separate note it's a great stomach filler before a night of drinking).

Balsamic, honey glaze - drizzle cooked beetroot with honey and a splash of balsamic vinegar then finished in the oven for 20 mins (hot oven). Nice accompaniment to a roast.

White sauce - this is how my mother-in-law serves it, top cooked beetroot with white sauce and finish in the oven. It turns a beautiful colour.

Of course the cooked beetroot goes fantastically in salad. I loved Raymond Blanc's recent Kitchen Secrets series, and his Hot smoked salmon, beetroot salad and horseradish crème fraîche recipe looks fantasic: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/brandonrostsmokedsal_93502