Another wonderful recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi’s SIMPLE, made by Lorraine. This is equally good as part of a meze appetizer or as a side dish.
Preheat your oven to 220°C (430ºF). Scrub clean 1 kg (a little more than 2 lbs) of beetroots and wrap them individually in tin foil. Place them on a baking tray and roast for 30-60 minutes until a knife inserted goes through smoothly. When they’re cool enough to handle, peel and slice them, put them in a large mixing bowl and set them aside to cool. In a small fry pan heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add 1½ teaspoons of cumin seeds. Cook until they start to pop then pour the seeds and the oil over the beetroots. Add 1 very thinly sliced red onion, the finely chopped peel of 1 small preserved lemon, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 10g (⅓ oz) of roughly chopped dill, 1 teaspoon of salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Mix well and transfer to a serving plate. Stir 1 tablespoon of tahini into 150g (5¼ oz) of Greek yoghurt and dot this over the beetroot. Garnish will more fresh dill.
michelle picker cooks 