Bright beets and summer squash for salad days

I walk past the neat stack of celery and the cloud of cauliflowers, ignoring the pointy cabbages and the scary box of scotch bonnet chillies that can floor you with one bite. I get to the end of the greengrocer’s long table and the box of beetroot with their slightly wilting plumes of leaves. The size of golf balls, the roots will bake in no time. Their leaves, bottle green with arteries so pronounced they could be pumping blood, can be shredded and tossed in sizzling oil, then mixed with the little beetroot and perhaps some salty white cheese and dusky green lentils.

I twist off the leaves, staining my fingers purple, and stuff the bright stems into a jug of water like a bunch of flowers. It will keep them from fainting, which they are prone to do on being parted from their roots. You can treat them like spinach or spring cabbage, shred them and throw the dark green ribbons into a shallow pan of emerald oil, nibs of garlic and the zest of a lemon.