Vinegret

Put the beetroot whole and unpeeled into a pan of cold water on its own.

Cook the beetroot in its own pan and never with anything else. It bleeds heavily into the water, and a shared pan gives pink potatoes before the salad has even been assembled.

Simmer for 45-60 minutes depending on size, until a skewer pushes to the centre with no resistance.

Put the potatoes and carrots whole and unpeeled into a second pan of cold water with the 10g of fine salt.

Simmer for 20-25 minutes, testing each with a skewer and lifting it out as soon as it gives.

Drain everything and leave it to cool completely, which takes an hour or so.

Rub the skins off the cold beetroot with your thumbs, and peel the potatoes and carrots the same way.

Cut the potato, carrot and beetroot to an even 8mm dice, keeping the beetroot in a bowl of its own.

Pour 2 tbsp of the sunflower oil over the diced beetroot and turn it until every cube is glossy.

Oil the beetroot on its own before it meets anything else. The film of oil holds the dye in, and beetroot folded in dry turns the whole bowl a flat uniform pink within minutes. The point of a vinegret is that you can still see what is in it.

Put the diced onion in a sieve, rinse it under cold running water for 30 seconds and squeeze it dry.

Taste the sauerkraut and rinse it once if it is fiercely sour, squeezing it dry afterwards.

Combine the potato, carrot, cucumbers, sauerkraut and onion in a large bowl.

Whisk the remaining 3 tbsp of oil with the cider vinegar, the sugar and a pinch of fine salt.

Pour the dressing over and fold it through.

Add the oiled beetroot last and fold two or three times only, then stop. Every further turn of the spoon costs you contrast.

Season with the ground peppercorns and then with fine salt, tasting first, since the sauerkraut and cucumbers carry plenty.

Cover and stand it at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving, which lets the dressing get into the potato.

Fold the dill through just before it goes on the table.

Note that the French vinaigrette this borrows its name from is a dressing rather than a salad, and that the everyday vinaigrette in this collection is what the word means in a French kitchen.

Keep it covered in the fridge and eat it within three days.

Expect it uniformly pink by the second day whatever you do. That is the beetroot winning, and it affects how it looks rather than how it tastes.