Whipped beets with goat's curd and toasted walnuts

Serves 4-6

This is a slight variation on a Mediterranean houmous or baba ganoush. It makes a great dinner-party starter or component in a sharing mezze or buffet.

500g raw medium-sized red beetroots
4tbsp olive or rapeseed oil plus a little extra for drizzling
Balsamic vinegar to taste
Salt and pepper

To serve

80g goat's curd
16-20 good-quality walnuts, lightly toasted
A few sprigs of coriander
Flatbread, to serve

Preheat the oven to 175C/gas mark 4.

Put the beetroots in a roasting tray, cover with tin foil and bake in the oven for about 1 hours or until tender when the point of a knife is inserted into the beetroot. Remove the foil and leave to cool.

Once they are cool enough to handle, gently rub the skins off – it is best to use rubber gloves for this if you wish to avoid staining your hands. Roughly chop the beetroots and blend with the vinegar and the rapeseed oil in a food processor or liquidiser until smooth.

Season to taste, then spoon on to serving plates and spread with the back of a spoon. Spoon three blobs of goat's curd on top and scatter the walnuts over. Drizzle with a little more oil, and finish it off with a scattering of coriander leaves.

Serve with warm flatbread.