B is for Beetroot

When I was a kid, the big decision was whether you had beetroot in your salad sandwiches or hamburgers with the lot. I grew up in the country and can recall stopping at a roadhouse in the middle of nowhere which served salad sandwiches: buttered white bread, soggy tomato and tinned beetroot. It wasn't until I went to University that I discovered that beetroot could be bought in the grocer's and eaten cooked, not just out of a can!Recipe for beetroot, carrot and potato cakes

• 2 medium beetroots, greens removed, peeled & grated
• 2 medium carrots, skin on, grated
• 2 medium potatoes, skin on, grated
• ½ medium onion, thinly sliced
• ½ tin of green lentils
• 1 egg, beaten
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 25g wholemeal plain flour
• 3 chopped spring onions
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 3 tbsp olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 150C/300F/gas2. Combine all the vegetables in a large bowl, then mix in the lentils, egg, salt and pepper.
2. Sieve in the flour and seasoning and stir well until it’s all blended.
3. Heat half the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Using 2-3 tablespoons of mixture per cake drop four cakes into the frying pan.
4. Flatten each out with a spatula, and cook until just browned and cooked through, which should take 3-4 minutes per side. Be careful that the pan isn’t too hot, or the cakes will burn before they’ve cooked in the middle.
5. When they are done on each side transfer the cakes to a tray in the oven to keep warm, then repeat with remaining mixture until finished.
6. Serve with a green salad, houmous and if you’re feeling frivolous, put them under the grill and melt some cheese on top.