Alright, I know that a lot of people may not like beetroot but I am sure that this recipe will change your mind forever! The tender sweetness from the beetroot and then the rich creaminess from the fresh ricotta accompanied by that sharp bite of those bee-utiful fresh beetroot leaves that just add that extra complexity. Then there is also a little bit of saltiness from just a bit of pancetta that balances out the whole dish. In this recipe I use toffee balsamic vinegar because it is slightly thicker and and will make the beetroot reduction be more reduction like, not just beetroot juice like (not much difference but there is some none the less). Now that I am done rambling we can get to recipe if you would like.
Warm Beetroot not-so Salad
Ingredients
7 large beetroot plus the leaves
4 slices of pancetta
400g ricotta
1/4 cup toffeed balsamic vinegar or 1/3 cup if using normal balsamic
2 cups water
Method:
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees. Wash beetroot until clean then cut off the leaves and a bit of the top, leave one aside. Cut them in half and then place them in a baking tray lined with baking paper. Give them a light coating of olive oil, then season well. Roast these for about an hour to an hour and a half. Meanwhile get the tops you have cut off and the beetroot that has been left aside and place them in a blender or food processor (I found a blender works best) a blitz until they form a course paste. From here add the water to the paste a let seep for 5 minutes. Drain the mixture into a small saucepan through a sieve and add balsamic vinegar. Boil the sauce down to roughly a third of the original amount, this will take about 30-40 minutes, stirring regularly. After your beetroot have been roasting for about an hour an 20 minutes place your pancetta in with them and cook them until they are nice and crispy. Once everything is done place three beetroot halves and three beetroot leaves on each plate with one piece of pancetta broken up, then 100g ricotta crumbled up. Finally drizzle your beetroot reduction over the top.
Enjoy 🙂
Tip: Beetroot taste best when they are fresh and a bit bigger than a golf ball.
The Boy Chef 