I had a lusty affair with beets while Nat was away for a few weeks in Copenhagen, especially cooked ones, earthy and sweet. Beets are too easily forgotten in our kitchen – which is a shame since they’re both delicious and very nutritious. This tasty, simple salad offsets the beet’s intense earthiness with creamy, bitter tahini, sour lemon and parsley.

• 4 smallish beetroots
• 2 tbsp tahini
• The zest from 1 unwaxed lemon
• The juice from that very same lemon
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• about 2 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp parsley, roughly chopped
• 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Wash the beets and place them in a medium sauce pan. Cover the beets with ample cold water. Bring to a simmer a leave it the hell alone for an hour or so. They’re done once a sharp knife can easily poke through the sweet, sweet beetflesh.
2. Zest the lemon and set aside.
3. While the beets are cooking, make the dressing. In a small bowl combine the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Add enough water to give the dressing a creamy but runny consistency. This depends on your tahini, but it’ll likely be around 2 tablespoons. We use this same dressing for almost every salad we eat.
4. Drain the beets and let them cool. Sure, you can run them under some cold water for a bit or shock them in an ice batch. Trim, peel and quarter the beets. Wash your hands, you look a mess.
5. Place the beets in a big bowl. Add the lemon zest, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Mix it up. Drizzle on the dressing and garnish with parsley. Don’t mix it after adding the dressing, unless you want hilariously pink dressing.

Beat to Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today.