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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 15 Minutes |
Ready In: 15 Minutes Servings: 8 |
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This recipe comes from Chef Patrick O'Connell. It features one of my favorite vegetables in an elegant, but quite easily prepared, setting. Obviously, you can omit the crème fraîche, caviar, and vodka aspic - but you lose a lot, not merely in presentation, but also in taste. Read more . This is clearly not a dish you'd serve all the time, but it makes a terrific first course for guests. I served it as the first course at Christmas, and the guests loved it. Ingredients:
8 medium red beets, unpeeled. |
4 baby yellow beets, unpeeled |
⅔ cup olive oil |
⅓ cup balsamic vinegar |
4 sprigs rosemary |
6 sprigs thyme |
11/2 cups fresh orange juice |
3 tablespoons chopped tarragon |
1/2 cup white wine vinegar |
1/4 cup walnut oil |
1/2 cup olive oil |
1 tablespoon minced shallots |
1 teaspoon minced garlic |
salt and pepper to taste |
1 cup citron flavored vodka |
1/4 cup pectin |
1/4 cup crème fraîche |
1 ounce caviar |
orange zest |
chervil or mint sprigs |
Directions:
1. For the beets:
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Rinse beets in cold water. In a baking dish large enough to hold the beets in a single layer, toss the beets with olive oil, vinegar, rosemary, and thyme.
4. Cover the dish with foil and roast the beets for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the baby yellow beets are tender when pierced with the sharp point of a knife. Remove the baby beets and continue to roast the red beets for an additional 25 minutes, or until they are tender.
5. Orange vinaigrette:
6. Whisk orange juice, tarragon, white wine vinegar, walnut oil, olive oil, shallots, and garlic in a large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a jar with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate until needed. Shake or whisk just before serving.
7. Vodka aspic:
8. In a small saucepan, bring the vodka to a boil over medium heat, being careful not to ignite it.
9. Whisk in the pectin and bring the mixture back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 minute.
10. Pour mixture into a pie pan or small, shallow container so that the liquid is not more than 1/2 inch deep.
11. Refrigerate the mixture overnight, or until it has jelled completely. Cut into cubes just before serving.
12. To serve:
13. When beets are cool enough to handle, peel them with a small paring knife. Cut the baby yellow beets into wedges.
14. Using a mandoline or an extremely sharp knife, slice the red beets into 1/8 inch thick slices and arrange them in overlapping circles on each plate.
15. Place a dollop of crème fraîche on the beets and a smaller dollop of caviar on top of the crème fraîche.
16. Garnish each plate with a few wedges of yellow beets, orange zest, chervil or mint sprigs, and cubes of vodka aspic.
17. Splash a bit of the orange vinaigrette over the beets.
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