Baked beetroot with pistachio butter and toasted barley

SERVES 4 AS A SIDE // PREP TIME 20 MINS // 1 HR 10 MINS (PLUS COOLING)

“We like to wrap the beet in foil and cook in the embers – it’s another way to use the heart of the kitchen,” says Perry. “I love the deep, sweet, rich flavour of the beets with the subtle nutty flavour of pistachios.”

6 beetroot, stems trimmed, scrubbed (see note)

60 ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbsp pearl barley

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

PISTACHIO BUTTER

70 gm (½ cup) pistachio nuts, blanched, lightly roasted (see note)

1 tsp red wine vinegar, or to taste

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 Preheat oven to 200°C fan-forced. Place beetroot in a small, deep roasting pan or baking dish. Fill pan with 1cm water, drizzle beetroot with 1 tbsp of the oil, season to taste and toss to coat. Cover pan with foil and roast until beetroot are tender (40-45 minutes).

Set beetroot aside or until cool enough to handle. Remove skins and discard; transfer cooking juices to a bowl.

2 Meanwhile, reduce oven to 150°C. Scatter pearl barley on a small baking tray and roast until golden (20 minutes). Cool. Transfer barley to a mortar and pestle and pound until coarsely cracked. Alternatively, pulse barley in a food processor until coarsely cracked.

3 Cut each beetroot into six wedges and add to the reserved cooking juices and drizzle with remaining olive oil. Season to taste and toss to combine.

4 Place pistachios in a blender and pulse, scraping down the sides occasionally, until a smooth paste begins to form. Gradually add the combined vinegar, 1½-2 tbsp water and oil, blending until a smooth green purée. Season to taste. Makes 125gm.

5 Place a spoonful of the pistachio butter in the centre of four plates and top with the beetroot wedges. Dress with remaining juices and drizzle over extra olive oil. Scatter over toasted barley.

Note You will need 2 bunches of beetroot for this recipe. Select bunches with beetroot that are 6-7cm and equal in size to cook evenly. For a vibrant green pistachio butter, blanch pistachios in a saucepan of boiling water for 1 minute, drain and pat dry with paper towel then rub off skins. Alternatively, you can use slivered pistachios which have already been blanched. Roast pistachios in a 150°C oven for a few minutes until dry and just starting to colour (5 minutes); cool.