Salt-Baked Beetroot Salad with Tofu Mayonnaise, Sesame Tahini Tuile and Textured Shallots

 Cooking with root vegetables  masterclass with Magazine Street Kitchen

Beetroot is one of my favourite root vegetables. It spends most of its life underground, it’s packed with vitamins, and it brings so much warmth to a plate, whether you roast it, slow cook it, fry it, or bake it. For this salad I bake it on a bed of salt, which cooks the beetroot like a roast inside the oven and concentrates its flavour.

It’s dressed in a pomegranate molasses and cherry vinegar marinade, then served with a creamy tofu mayonnaise, textured shallots, and a crisp sesame and tahini twill. Dehydrated strawberries add sourness and crunch, and sorrel and snow pea tendrils bring freshness. Every bite gives you sweet, sour, crunchy, and creamy at once.

A pinch of my Smoked Nori Chilli Lavasalt  ties it all together.

For the Recipe

Salt-Baked Beetroot

Ingredients

• 5 baby  beetroot
• Salt, for the baking bed

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 170°C.
• Trim a few centimetres off the top of each beetroot, keeping the root intact.
• Make a bed of salt in a baking tray and add the beetroot. Wrap each beetroot individually.
• Bake for 55 mins at fan forced temperature of 160C or until tender.
• Once cooked, remove the skins. Carefully cut the edges off, then cut each beetroot in half.

Beetroot Dressing

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp cherry vinegar
• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• ½ tbsp light soy sauce
• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt, to season

Directions

• Mix everything together and season with salt.
• Add the halved beetroot to the dressing to marinate.

Tofu Mayonnaise

Makes about 320ml

Ingredients

• 250g silken Japanese tofu
• 30ml lemon juice
• 5g Japanese chilli
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• A kiss of smoked nori chilli salt
• Black pepper
• A little olive oil

Directions

• Break up the tofu a little and add the lemon juice, chilli, cider vinegar, Dijon, salt, and pepper.
• Mix well, then add the olive oil. Taste, and it should have that creamy, tangy mayo flavour.
• Mix until thick and smooth.

Textured Shallots

Ingredients

• 3 shallots ( cut in half)
• 1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar

Directions

• Place the shallots in a cold fry pan and cook for 5 to 6 minutes at most.
• Add balsamic to finish and make sure it is caramelised

Sesame and Tahini Tuile

Ingredients

• 80gm sugar
• 68gm plain Flour
• 4 tbsp melted butter
• 1 tbsp tahini paste
• 2tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• Sesame seeds

Directions

• Mix the sugar, flour, melted butter, tahini, lemon juice, and orange juice into a batter.
• Spread the batter thinly and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
• Bake until golden. That’s the colour you want.
• Cut straight through while still warm.

To Garnish

• Sorrel
• Snow pea tendrils
• Dehydrated strawberries
• About 2 tbsp pomegranate seeds

To Plate

• Spoon the tofu mayonnaise onto the plate and add the marinated beetroot.
• Scatter over the pomegranate seeds, leaves, textured shallots, and sesame twill.
• Powder the dehydrated strawberries along one side of the plate. This adds an accent and a hit of sourness and crunch.

Watch the video below: