Vanilla and balsamic glazed beetroot

Peel the beetroots with a peeler, slicing the tops off just below where they sprout with a paring knife.

Chop up into chunks and place on a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place into an oven at 180 degrees Celsius, to bake for about 10 minutes or until slightly soft and starting to colour a little.

Meanwhile create the balsamic and vanilla bean glaze in a pan. Add the balsamic vinegar and sugar to a saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthways, scrape out the caviar from the center and pop the lot into the pan with the vinegar and sugar. Bring to simmer and stir to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and leave to infuse for 10 minutes.

Once the beetroots have  begun to soften, pour the glaze and whole vanilla pods over the beetroot. Return the beets to the oven and cook for another 5-10 minutes to allow the balsamic vanilla glaze to coat the beets and become a little sticky. Be careful not to over cook or the balsamic will reduce and burn.

Remove form the oven and place in a bowl to serve.

I love these beets with any roast meet, but particularly roasted lamb. But it goes well as a base for a warm salad, or to accompany a salty Spanakopita. This is how we enjoyed them last night.