Fine dining beetroot & strawberry dish

Today we’re going to make the perfect summer appetizer. It's a beetroot dish with salted dough baked beetroot, beetroot dumplings, basil oil, white balsamic vinegar gel, strawberry and a beetroot stem broth. The dish is vegan apart from the butter in the cream, but I use vegan butter because my fiancé has a lactose intolerance.

The salt dough baked beetroots

400 grams	flour
400 grams	coarse salt
250 grams	water
800 grams	beetroots

First separate the leaves from the beetroots and clean both. Once cleaned separate the stems from the leaves and keep both in your fridge for later. Now transfer the flour on your worktop and make a well in the middle. Then fill it the salt the of water. Knead this till it’s a nice dough. Now flour your worktop and roll out the dough. The roll the dough on your rolling pin and transfer it on a silicon sheet. Put the beetroots on top and cover it well with the salt dough. Then bake them at 200 degrees Celsius for 50 minutes. Once baked take them out of the oven and gently remove the top of the dough. Let it cool down for a couple of minutes, but don’t wait to long to remove the skin. This will be a lot easier when the beetroots are still warm. Weigh 500 grams of the largest beetroots for the cream. The remaining small beets you can cut in four and then keep them in your fridge for later.

The beetroot cream

500 grams	the largest cooked beetroots
1	red onion
50 grams	butter
40 grams	sugar
20 grams	white balsamic vinegar
200 grams	vegetable broth
	A knife tip of Xanthan powder

First cut the largest cooked beetroots in chunks. Then cut one red onion in half and clean it. Now chop it. Then heat up a frying pan and the butter, the chopped red onion and the sugar. Caramelize this till the sugar starts to color. When that happens add the the beetroot and caramelize this for another 5 minutes. Then deglaze it with the white balsamic vinegar and the vegetable broth. Let this reduce. After that transfer it into a blender and blend it till smooth. Once it’s smooth add a knife tip of Xanthan powder and blend it for another minute. This will prevent the cream from splitting. After that keep it in your fridge for later.

The dumpling filling

3	red onions
	The beetroot cream

First cut the red onions in half and clean them. Now chop them. Then heat up a frying pan, add a splash of oil and glaze the onions with a generous amount of salt. Glaze them for 30 minutes. After that add some of the beetroot cream and mix it. Then keep it in your fridge for later.

The beetroot broth

120 grams	beetroot stems
50 grams	white balsamic vinegar
15 grams	soy sauce
3 grams	salt
30 grams	ginger syrup

Transfer the beetroot stems into a blender together with the white balsamic vinegar, the soy sauce, the salt and the ginger syrup. Blend this till smooth. Then pour it on a fine sieve that’s lined with a kitchen and let it drain in your fridge.

The balsamic gel

100 grams	white balsamic vinegar
30 grams	ginger syrup
40 grams	sugar
30 grams	pear juice
3 grams	agar powder
2 grams	salt

First pour the white balsamic vinegar in a saucepan together with the ginger syrup, the sugar, the pear juice, the agar powder and the salt. Bring this to a boil for 1 minute. Once it has boiled pour it in bowl and let it cool down in your fridge. Then transfer it into a blender and blend it into a smooth gel. Transfer it into a piping bottle and keep it in your fridge for later.

The basil oil

30 grams	basil leaves
	Neutral oil. I use sunflower oil

First pick enough basil for 30 grams of leaves. Transfer them into a blender, also add the neutral oil. Then blend it till the oil is 65 degrees Celsius. It will heat up from the friction.

Once that’s done pass it through a sieve that’s lined with a kitchen paper and let it drain in your fridge.

The beetroot dumplings

Take 1 big raw beetroot and trim one side. Now cut it in thin slices on a mandolin. Lay the slices on your cutting board and cut them with a big round cutter. Then transfer them in a bowl and cover them with the beetroot stem broth. Mix it well and let it marinade for at least 30 minutes. The remaining broth you can bind with a touch of Xanthan powder. Then transfer the marinade slices on a tray and put a teaspoon of the filling in the middle. Pipe a small dot of the balsamic gel on top and then close it on three points. Really press the sides so the dumplings don’t lose their shape. Keep them in your fridge for later.

The remaining garnish

Take a couple of strawberries and trim the top. Then cut it in thin slices. After that take the beetroot leaves and cut them with a small round cutter.

How to finish the dish

First use a big round cutter to make a thin circle with the beetroot cream. Place three dumplings in the middle. Also add the small beetroots, a couple strawberry slices and the balsamic gel. Then decorate it with the beetroot leaves and finish it of with the stem broth and the basil oil. I plate everything 10 minutes after I took it out of the fridge, but this really depends on the weather. When it’s very hot the ingredients will become warm fast and I like this one just a little fresh and cold.