For Our Vegan friends.
A play on classic beef carpaccio, this vegan recipe offers subtle earthiness and sweetness from the beets combined with a delicious peppery bite from the radishes. This salad pairs beautifully with our 2020 Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir—a match that is perhaps not intuitive, but is one that is surprisingly harmonious.
The key to a stunning presentation lies in slicing the beets paper thin. A mandolin is a great choice for achieving consistent results; a wide vegetable peeler works well, too. We used heirloom Bull’s Blood beets for this recipe. You can also use or mix in Chioggia or golden beets for an added pop of color.
Recipe
INGREDIENTS
4 medium beetroots
3 radishes
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
a squeeze of lemon juice
pinch sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
basil, for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat the oven to 350° F. Rinse the beets, then trim off the stems and roots. Place in aluminum foil, drizzle olive oil over them, and season them with salt and ground pepper. Wrap them in the foil, and roast for 50-60 minutes, or until they are tender.
Remove the beets from the oven and allow them to cool.
Once they are cool enough to handle, slice off the tops and bottoms, and discard. Run them under cool water to peel off the skins.
Use a mandolin, a vegetable cutter, (or if you have great knife skills) a sharp knife to cut the beets into thin rounds.
Arrange them on a platter. Cut the radishes into thin rounds as well, and arrange them over the top of the beets.
Warm a small sauté pan over medium-high heat, then toss in the walnuts and toast until fragrant, around 2 minutes. Remove them from the pan, give them a rough chop, then sprinkle them over the salad.
Drizzle olive oil and lemon juice over the top. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with basil, and serve immediately.
