Beetroot

Beetroot in Greece is bought and cooked as two vegetables at once. The roots are boiled whole and dressed with olive oil and red wine vinegar, and the leaves and stalks, which are attached when the bunch is sold, are boiled separately and eaten as horta. Throwing the tops away, as is usual in many other markets, discards what a Greek cook considers the better half.

Patzaria salata, the finished plate of warm boiled beetroot and its greens under oil and vinegar, is very often served with skordalia beside it, and the pairing of sweet, earthy beetroot with a fierce garlic and potato paste is one of the more convincing combinations in the meze repertoire. It is standard Lenten food, since neither element involves meat or dairy.

Boil the roots unpeeled, with the tail and a couple of centimetres of stalk left on, or they bleed their colour into the water and come out pale. Once cooked, the skins slip off under a little pressure with no peeling needed. Rubber gloves are not a fussy suggestion here: beetroot juice stains hands and wooden boards for days afterwards.