Beetroot with Goat’s cheese Towers
Preparation Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 6 people
Can be made in advance
This is a quick and easy to prepare tasty starter. It looks colourful and the goat’s cheese and beetroot combine well. For many people it is one of those vegetables you either like or dislike but when I made this for a cookery class, my students were pleasantly surprised!
Beetroot as a hot vegetable is generally unappreciated but as an accompaniment it is great with red meat and poultry. When buying raw beetroot look for firm, unblemished roots with fresh leaves. Handle beetroots carefully. If the skin is broken they will bleed, losing its sweetness and colour. Store the unwashed beetroots in the refrigerator in an open bag.
Beetroots work well with cucumbers, potatoes, apples, pears, sausages, balsamic vinegar, sour cream, oranges, mustard, horseradish, soy sauce, lime and mint – just a few ideas for a change. They can be steamed, boiled or roasted or even grated and eaten raw.
On a healthy note, beetroots are rich in complex carbohydrates, vitamin C and potassium. They have a moderate amount of protein and sodium are also low in fat.
Ingredients
- 3 Goat’s cheese circles – cut 6 thin slices per cheese
- 3 – 4 ready cooked beets – slice in thick rounds –( you need 18 in total)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 red onions – peeled and slices
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 200g fresh rucola salad
- 6 grape tomatoes
- 6 cocktail sticks
Method
1) Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas mark 6.
2) Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Sauté the onions with the brown sugar on a low light with the lid on for 25 minutes so that they are sweet and golden. (Burnt onions taste bitter!)
3) Heat the grill to its highest setting.
4) Make a goats cheese tower by placing a round of goats cheese followed by a round of beetroot on a baking tray. Do this twice more and secure with a cocktail stick. Sit a cherry tomato at the end of the stick. Put under the hot grill for 5 minutes or until just melting.
5) Reheat the onions so they are warm.
To serve the stylish way: Place the caramelised onions in a circle on the plate and the rocket leaves around the outer layer. Sit a beetroot and goats cheese tower in the centre.
For further information please contact:
Denise's Kitchen
Northwood, Middlesex, HA6 2HD
