Serves 4 - 6
Preheat the oven to 200c / gas mark 6
1 kg beetroot
4 cloves of garlic
2-3 sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons of olive or rapeseed oil
1 litre vegetable stock
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Scrub the beetroot well, wearing gloves to save your hands from staining. Place them in a roasting tin and scatter the garlic, thyme and bay leaf around them and use your hands to coat everything in the oil.
Add about a wine glass full of water, then cover tightly with foil.
Cook for about an hour depending on the size of the beetroot until a knife goes in easily.
When cool gently rub the skin from the BR and squeeze out the pulp from the garlic, then blitz everything in a blender with half of the stock.
Transfer to a pan and heat gently without boiling adding more stock until it's the consistency you prefer.
Serve with a dollop of yoghurt and scatter some chives on top.
Also nice with horseradish instead of yoghurt to give it a bit of a kick.
Enjoy.