Beetroots are the main component of this vegetarian carpaccio. The sweet, earthy taste of the red beets goes perfectly with the creamy goat cheese. And it doesn’t just taste great, it even looks amazing. It works very well as main dish, especially when served with some bread. But it is also works great as a starter.
Traditionally, carpaccio is an Italian dish, that contains thinly sliced raw meat or fish. It was invented in the 1950’s and named after Vittore Carpaccio. This Venetian painter used a lot of red and white tones in his paintings. This vegetarian carpaccio obviously doesn’t contain any meat or fish. But it certainly has those red and white colors, with its white goat cheese and red beets.
Beetroots are famous for their vivid color. This color comes from pigments called betalains. These pigments are also good for your health, giving beetroots the super food status. They do have one side effect however. One that might give you a bit of a fright: they turn your urine and poo red. So don’t worry, you’re not ill. It’s just the beets.
If you’re not a fan of all that redness, there are other options. Because beetroots don’t just come in one color. Besides red, they also come in yellow and orange. You can even have a striped beet, if that’s more your style. These varieties might be a bit harder to find in supermarkets, but you can always try to grow your own. We grow our own beets and they’re not a difficult crop.
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- 2 beetroots about 450 g
- 200 g soft goat cheese
- 50 g pine nuts
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- lettuce
- salt and pepper
Ingredients
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- Remove the roots and leaves from the beets and boil them for about 30 minutes. Then put them in a bowl of cold water, to stop the cooking process and cool them quickly. If you're using pre-boiled beets, you can of course skip this step.
- Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan. Keep a close eye on them, as they can burn in the blink of an eye. Toast them until they're starting to brown, then take them from the pan and set them aside.
- Mash the goat cheese with a fork and mix it with one tablespoon of olive oil. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a bowl, combine a tablespoon each of olive oil and vinegar. Stir a couple of lettuce leaves through this mixture, until they're all coated.
- Peel the beetroots and cut them into thin slices. Cut them as thin as you can. The easiest way to do this is with a mandoline slicer, but do mind your fingers! Also, since beetroots are full of juice, which is very red and leaves big stains, mind your clothes!
- Arrange everything neatly onto a plate. Start with layer of lettuce leaves, followed by a layer of beetroot slices. Make sure to season liberally with black pepper as you layer the slices. Finally add the goat cheese and the pine nuts.
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