Textures of Beet

Walnut crust: 65 gm ground walnuts, 140 gm cake flour, 1 Tb sugar, ¼ tsp salt, 85 gm butter, 2 Tb water – parbake at 180°C until just starting to brown and firm up.

Cheesecake: 1 large roasted beet, 250 gm blue cheese, 250 gm cream cheese, 100 ml scalded milk, 2 Tb flour, 1 Tb sugar, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, 3 large eggs – blend all ingredients together, pour over crust, return to oven for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 140°C and continue baking until set, roughly 30-35 minutes. Let cool and then chill.

Beet chips: Peel and thinly slice beets (obviously, I cut them square, but that’s not a requirement). Toss with olive oil, sea salt and chopped rosemary. Lay out on baking sheet in single layer, bake 15 minutes until just browned and starting to crisp (they’ll crisp up more while draining and cooling). Drain on paper towel.

Beet puree: Peel, wedge, and boil a large beet in salted water until completely soft. Puree with a knob of butter and salt to taste.

Beet stem pickle: Simmer a cup of water with a tablespoon each of sugar, olive oil, grated garlic, chopped peperoncino (dried chilies), salt, coriander and fennel seeds, plus 3 tablespoons of rice vinegar. Add the chopped stems from the two beets and simmer until tender. Reduce the liquid if necessary and cool.

Wine: Bodega Chandon Pinot Noir Reserve Brut, N.V., Mendoza