The recipe
Bring a pan of water to the boil. Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Trim, but do not peel, 6 small beetroots, leaving a short tuft of stalks in place.
Cook the beetroots in the boiling water for 30 minutes, then drain them. Place a large square of foil on the work surface. Put the beetroots on the foil. Turn the edges of the foil up around the beetroots, but don’t seal them.
Peel 4 cloves of young garlic and add them to the beetroot, together with a seasoning of salt and black pepper, 3 large springs of rosemary and 50g of butter.
Scrunch the edges of the foil together, then place the parcel on a baking sheet or in a roasting tin and bake it for 25-35 minutes until the beets are completely tender.
Grill or fry 2 to 3 sausages per person, to be served with the baked beetroot. As you open the foil parcel, roll the hot sausages in the beetroot’s baking juices.
The trick
If you have beetroots that are larger than a golf ball, I suggest boiling them whole, but cutting them in half or even quarters before you bake them, to give the aromatics a chance to do their work. Undo the parcel at the table to get the full scent of rosemary and garlic and sweet beetroot as the steam escapes.
The twist
This is a perfect little recipe for the barbecue. Prepare as above, but instead of baking it in the oven, place the parcel on the barbecue. The butter, scented with garlic and rosemary, could be replaced by one with thyme and lemon, or alternatively with a mixture of olive oil and butter into which you have stirred in a single, crushed anchovy and a pinch of ground bay.
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