Pancar Salatasi (Beetroot with Yoghurt)

Now I'm not normally the world's biggest fan of pink (a certain dou person springs to mind here, eh @polkadotcupcake, @JulyAte and @mdd1985?), but there is something about the brilliant deep pink of beetroot that just screams "Hello world!" It's the vegetable equivalent of slapping on some body glitter, slinging on a feather boa and heading out to town in your tear inducing pointy-toed stilettos.
Charming and dazzling everyone within 5 feet of your sparkling self of course. Perhaps tossing your thick mane of hair to one side, wiggling your pert little bottom and winking at that cute guy across the room.

*Ahem* It seems as if I might've got a tad sidetracked. So, beetroot. Party girl of her generation. Irresistibly pink and earthily sweet, she tends to gravitate towards the dairy kind of man. Preferring salty blue cheese one day, feta the next and tangy, garlic-y greek yoghurt for a bit of variation. Throw in a handful of herbs and miss Beet is happy like a pig in mud. Although, decidedly un-piglike. After all, she is a lady.

PS: The recipe says it serves 6 - 8, but I must confess I polished most of it myself. Let the number of forks in the photo not fool you, it's all for appearances dahling. Apparently I am rather pig-like after all. *Oink*

Pancar Salatisi 
(Beetroot with Yoghurt)
Slightly adapted from Arabesque
Serves 6 - 8 

1 bunch beetroot, stalks removed
1 1/2 cups thick Greek yoghurt
2 tsp minced garlic
3 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
coarse sea salt
handful of fresh mint, chopped

1. Slice tops and bottoms off beetroot bulbs, then boil or roast until soft. This can take from 30 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on method of cooking or size of bulbs.
2. Run cooked beetroot under cold water and rub skins off (do this with gloves on if you don't want pink-stained hands). Slice into rounds and set aside.
3. Mix yoghurt and garlic and spread onto a serving plate. Arrange beetroot slices on top and drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle salt and chopped mint over and serve immediately.

Variation: Pile the whole dish (sans mint) onto a pizza base and bake for 10 minutes at 220C. Top with grated mozzarella, sprinkle with mint and a handful of pumpkin seeds and return to the oven to melt the cheese.  Serve warm or cold.