For me, Greek lamb calls for beetroot on the side, cooked with sugar and vinegar, and scattered with feta cheese and dill. If you can find baby beetroot with healthy green tops, wash the tops well and cook them separately in simmering salted water until wilted, then drain and toss in a little extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice and serve on the side — a real treat.

Ingredients
Feeds 4. Takes 1 hour.

4 medium beetroot, unpeeled
150ml water
2tbsp white sugar
2tbsp red or white wine vinegar
100g feta cheese
2tbsp chopped fresh dill

Scrub the beetroot and trim off the tops. Cook it, unpeeled, in plenty of salted water until tender. This could take around 40 minutes, depending on their size and age. Drain well, and when cool enough to handle, slip off the skins under cold running water. Chop the beetroot into 1cm dice, and combine in a small saucepan with the water, sugar and vinegar. Bring to the boil, stirring, and simmer until the water evaporates, leaving you with lightly pickled beetroot in sticky beetroot juices.

Tip into a serving dish, and scatter with feta and dill.

Note Obviously you can make this with freshly cooked beetroot from the shops instead of cooking your own — but inspect it closely, as some of the cooked beetroot I find on the shelves has been sitting there for weeks.

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