Beetroot Carpaccio with Raspberry Drizzle

An incredibly simply yet effective side salad, which is an aesthetic addition to any table. It is, however, slightly messy business so be sure to wear an apron - the good news is this can be prepped way in advance, so you won't be in your pinny when your dinner guests arrive.

Serving Suggestion: alongside fresh fish or rare beef, with a spring salad.

Difficulty Level: 2

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Ingredients:

Serves 4 as a side.

• 4 beetroot, each larger than a golf ball but smaller than a tennis ball, as fresh and hard as possible

• 50ml raspberry vinegar

• 50ml extra virgin olive oil

• Herbs to decorate such as chive, thyme, verbena, basil or marjoram

Dressing:

• 50ml or raspberry vinegar, or to make your own:

• Four or five raspberries

• 50ml of red wine vinegar

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Method:

1. If you are making your own raspberry vinegar, crush four or five raspberries in 50ml of red wine vinegar. Ideally, I would leave to macerate in a cup for a few hours before you need it but don't worry too much if you are short on time.

2. Place the beetroot, unpeeled, in a saucepan, cover them with salted water and simmer for about 40 to 50 minutes. If you need to, place a saucer on top of them to keep them under the water. To test they are done, a small sharp knife should easily penetrate the roots. If they are not ready, keep testing every five minutes until they are done.

3.  Drain the beetroot and cover again with cold water. The beetroot will be cool enough to handle after a few minutes in the cold water. Once cool, rub off the beetroot skins – they should come off very easily. Take a mandolin and use the finest setting to slice each beetroot into thin rounds, or do this carefully with a sharp knife.

4. After slicing each root, spread the slices on a plate. I like to make concentric circles until the whole plate is covered.

5. When you have plate of sliced beetroot ready, it is time to dress them. I drizzle them evenly with the raspberry vinegar and then the olive oil. Season each plate with sea salt and decorate with herbs of your choosing, I usually opt for basil or marjoram.