Friday, November 5, 2010

Beauty and the Beets

Good morning and happy Friday!
Someone posted this recipe today on Facebook and I had to repost! I have seen something similiar online. I don't remember if it was a restaurant link or a recipe blog, either way the colors in this dish are amazing and I have to have it! This may be a Saturday afternoon experiment.




Beauty and the Beet

6 medium beets, peeled and sliced very thin on a mandoline
2 tablespoons cold-pressed olive oil
Salt & Black pepper to taste


For the Parsley Pesto
3 cloves of garlic
3 cups raw pumpkin seeds, soaked for 4-6 hours, drained and rinsed
2 cups parsley leaves (well-packed)
¾ cup cold-pressed olive oil
¾ teaspoon Himalayan salt


For the Sweet Pepper-Fennel Cream
2 sweet bell peppers
1 cup roughly chopped carrots
½ cup cold-pressed olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
¾ teaspoon Himalayan salt
¾ teaspoon fennel seed

Beet Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, toss the beets with the olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper to season.
2. Make sure all of the beets are evenly coated.
3. Set aside.

Parsley Pesto Instructions :
1. Place the garlic in your food processor and process to finely chop.
2. Add all remaining ingredients and process until well combined.
3. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides a few times to keep things moving.
4. Scrape into a bowl.

Pepper-Fennel Cream Instructions :
1. Place the bell pepper, carrot, olive oil, garlic and salt in a blender.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Add the fennel seed and blend lightly until just combined.
4. Pour into a bowl.

To assemble:

For each beet stack, begin with one slice of beet. Top with 2 teaspoons of parsley pesto. Top with another slice of beet. Top that with 2 more teaspoons of pesto and then a third slice of beet. Place a small spoonful of the sweet pepper-fennel cream on top of the third beet. The process will go much faster if you make several stacks at a time. Continue until you have used all of your beets and pesto, but make sure you’ve saved some of the sweet pepper-fennel cream. Before placing the stacks on a plate, place a spoonful of sweet pepper-fennel cream on the plate for each stack you’ll be serving. Place the beet stacks on top of the sweet pepper-fennel cream, garnish with chopped parsley and serve.