For tonight’s dinner I wanted some roast potatoes but I decided I would experiment by adding some of my beetroot powder (dehydrated beetroot blitzed into a magenta powder). I added some into the oil I preheated in the oven, which just cooked to a dark brown by the time the potatoes went in. I also added some more part way through the cooking. Initially that looked promising but the colour had largely gone by the time it came out.

I’d count both of those as wasted powder but I have an inkling that I might get the effect I want if I add the beetroot much nearer the end of the cooking time. It might even work to sprinkle it over the potatoes after they come out of the oven, when they are still covered in scalding hot oil. More experiments to come but, even if I didn’t get the colour I wanted, at least I got the roast potatoes which weren’t any the worse for my less-than-bright idea.