Puréed beetroot with yoghurt & za’atar

Beetroot is one of very few vegetables that have a strong presence in the cuisine of almost any group in Jerusalem: it colours pickling juices on the Arab table and is used in most mezze selections, it is the base for Ashkenazi borscht and hamitsa, a refreshing cold version of the soup, and it forms the basis for another soup, of Jewish-Iraqi and Kurdish origin, where the famous semolina kubbeh is served.

Beetroot also crosses cultural lines with the flexibility of an acrobat. On