Delicious beetroot salad

Having your own veggies doesn't get much better than bringing a beautiful fresh bunch of beets up to the kitchen to be transformed into a vibrant healthy and delicious salad.

Simply take the tops off the beets, leaving about 2cm of stalk to stop them bleeding, just cover with water and a good pinch of sea salt. Bring up to the boil and cook for about 4 minutes if they are nice young ones like these, or a bit longer if they are big and old!

When cooked, drain and run under the cold tap to cool them a little, and simply push off the skins with the back of a spoon. Chop the beets up -- I like a random chop as I think it makes everything more intersting, and douse in good olive oil, a scrunch of nice salt (Pink Himalayan is my current fave!), freshly milled pepper and some finely chopped flat leaf parsley. Also, if I had some to hand, I might add a bit of chopped tarragon, a little golden marjoram (a little goes a long way here), or some chervil, chives or even mint would be nice. Finish with a little squeeze of lemon or lime if you think it needs a bit of acidity. The main thing is good oil, salt, pepper and parsley. So simple and so good!