Everyday, we sit down in the Ladle & Bowl and have lunch together. Our lunch is creatively and marvellously made for us by our wonderful chef, Paul.

Today, a year to the day that Michael Jackson passed away, Paul made tribute ‘Smokin’ Beets’.

With some classic MJ tunes blaring, we tucked in. It’s the best beetroot we’ve tasted. Well done Paul!

Here’s how he did it:

Clean, peel and cut the beets into quarters.
Cover them in olive oil, sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
Put them in a pan with a little bit of water and cook them till they soften slightly.

Tip them out into a sieve and let them cool.

Then, in a smoking pan (you can buy one, but Paul uses an old saucepan, a cake tin and a sieve…). Lay dried rosemary and rosehip tea (not bagged) in the bottom of the  pan.

Add the beetroot onto the smoking shelf, and place the pan on the flame.
Bring it up ‘to the smoke’ for about 10 or 15 mins. Then turn the flame off, but keep the pan sealed. Leave for about an hour. The smoke will give the beetroot a beautiful, subtle smokey flavour. It will cool down a bit while it’s standing, so it’s ready to serve when you take the lid off.