27/07/2026
Although I rarely enjoy eating produce out of season, beetroot has always been my one exception.
At the Kaş market, I found what I believe were the Formanova variety—long, slender beets with exceptionally thin skins that cook quickly. I bought only three.
I halved two of them lengthwise and roasted them with meaty red peppers, shallots—which I've been delighted to see in abundance at one stall this year, and which happen to be the ordinary! onions I grew up with—a whole head of garlic, some surprisingly beautiful and juicy carrots, and a selection of tomatoes. Everything was drizzled generously with olive oil, sprinkled with Maldon salt, and roasted at 200°C.
Once cooked, I slipped the skins off the vegetables, blended them with a couple of drops of Tabasco and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar as well as their cooking juices, then chilled the soup thoroughly before serving it with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a generous grind of black pepper.
It didn't disappoint me. In fact, it was the simplest—and perhaps the finest—cold soup I have ever eaten.
Try this hot in winter. I bet it will be as good.
