Smoked beetroot with toasted nuts

Beetroot is a divisive vegetable at the best of times, and I am well aware that smoking it will definitely raise a few eyebrows.

However, with that said, I think it’s one of the most delicious ways of serving beetroot, and can easily be an unusual and exciting starter to a fancy dinner party, as part of a mezze spread, or just as a fun side to whatever else you’re cooking!

The idea was more or less nabbed from a recipe in Yotam Ottolenghi’s incredible book Plenty More, probably the best vegetarian cookbook out there and one of my favourite cookbooks of all time.

This is our stripped-down, low-fat version that’s seriously easy and involves mostly hands-off cooking! You can also take the beetroots and crush them, mix with basil, olive oil, lemon juice and salt to make a gorgeous dip.