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Heat the oven to 190C/180C Fan*/Gas 5.
Trim the beetroot and set on a piece of tinfoil large enough to make into a parcel. Drizzle with a little oil. Close the parcel (leaving room around the beets) and put into a roasting tin. Bake until all the beets are soft right through – this can take up to 2 hours, depending on their size.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and sauté the onion and celery until soft but still pale. Add the garlic, cayenne and coriander seeds and cook for another 2 minutes.
Peel and chop the baked beetroot and add to the pan with the stock. Boil then simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the blackberries and simmer for another minute. Season.
Leave to cool then purée in a blender. Taste and decide whether you want to add some lemon – it can lift flavours, but you need to judge the sourness (beetroot is sweet but the berries give tartness).
For the relish, grind the garlic and salt to a paste in a mortar. Add the walnuts and pound until the relish is partly puréed, partly chunky. Stir in the oil, balsamic vinegar, some black pepper and the coriander.
Serve the soup with a spoonful of relish on top, some sour cream and a few blackberries.