This recipe is a veritable treat of textures and flavours. The pickled beetroot with cinnamon lends a warm earthy taste. Beetroot chips give it crunch. And the horseradish panna cotta, which acts like a dressing here, provides a creamy pungency. If horseradish is unavailable, you can use wasabi.

  • Serves

    4

  • Cook Time

    3h

    Make the panna cotta the previous day

Ingredients

For Roasted Beets

  • 200 gm baby red beets
  • 20 ml olive oil
  • 4 sprigs of thyme
  • Salt and pepper

For Pickled Beetroot*

  • 300 gm red beetroot
  • 50 gm sugar
  • 25 gm fresh dill
  • 10 gm salt
  • 200 ml white wine vinegar
  • 200 ml water
  • 1 medium cinnamon stick
  • 8-10 black peppercorns

For Beetroot Chips

  • 6 large red beetroot (or any other variety)
  • 20 gm celery salt
  • 60 ml olive oil

For Horseradish Panna Cotta

  • 200 ml milk
  • 20 ml lemon juice
  • 100 gm double cream
  • 100 gm sour cream
  • 50 gm horseradish finely grated
  • 3 gelatin leaves, bloomed in warm water
  • Salt to taste

For Basil Oil

  • 100 gm basil leaves
  • 10 gm spinach leaf
  • 150 ml olive oil

For Garnish

  • 50 ml basil oil
  • 20 gm mustard microgreens or a few baby lettuces
  • 20 ml beetroot pickling liquid
  • 4-6 pieces of herbed crisps/melba toast

* Note: The beetroot needs to pickle for a minimum of 4-5 days. The longer the better – it will keep in the refrigerator for months and get better with age.

Preparation

For Roasted Beetroot

  1. Wash and scrub the beetroot skin really well, pat dry and rub generously with olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme. 
  2. Wrap in aluminium foil and roast in an oven at 180°C/350°F till tender. 
  3. Remove, let it cool to room temperature and peel off the skin. Save any juices that might have collected. 
  4. Cut into wedges and refrigerate with any leftover juices.

For Pickled Beets

  1. Wash, peel and cut the beetroot into wedges and put them in a sanitised glass jar. 
  2. Remove and wash the dill leaves and stuff them in the jar with the beets. Reserve the dill stems. 
  3. Bring all the pickling ingredients, along with the dill stems, to a boil in a saucepan. Pour this hot pickling liquid over the beets and dill leaves in the jar.
  4. Seal the jar and let it come to room temperature before refrigerating.

For Beetroot Chips

  1. Heat the oven to 145°C/300°F. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. 
  2. Wash and scrub the beets well with a stiff brush, and cut off the tops. 
  3. Using a mandolin slicer, cut the beets into paper-thin 2 mm slices. (When the beet slices are this thin, there is no need to peel them first.) Hold the root end while dragging the beets across the mandolin and be mindful of your fingertips so you don’t skin them. 
  4. Place the beet slices in a large bowl and pour the oil and salt over them. Toss well. If using red and golden beets, place in separate bowls to maintain their individual colours, and divide the oil and salt evenly. 
  5. Let the beets sit in the oil and salt until they release their natural juices. This takes about 15-20 minutes and allows them to retain better shape and colour. 
  6. Toss the beets again, then drain off the liquid. 
  7. Lay the slices out in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 45-60 minutes until crisp, but not brown. 
  8. Test after 45 minutes and bake longer only if necessary. Remove the chips from the oven and let them cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

For Panna Cotta

  1. Heat the milk, double cream and sour cream in a saucepan to 50°C or 125°F. 
  2. Remove from heat and add gelatin, followed by horseradish. Pour in lemon juice and season with salt. 
  3. Leave to rest at room temperature until it cools and starts to thicken. Pass through a chinois or fine sieve. Divide mixture among ramekin moulds and refrigerate for a few hours until it sets.

For Basil Oil

  1. Boil water in a pot and blanch the basil and spinach for a minute, before transferring them to an ice water bath to stop the cooking. 
  2. Once cool, squeeze out the excess water from the leaves and purée them with the olive oil in a blender till completely emulsified. 
  3. Strain the oil using a muslin cloth and discard the suspended particles. Store in a squeeze bottle.

To Serve

  1. De-mould the panna cotta and place it in the centre of the plate. Arrange the roasted beets, pickled beets around the panna cotta. 
  2. Garnish with beetroot chips, melba toast and microgreens. 
  3. Mix the basil oil and beetroot pickling liquid in a bowl to form a vinaigrette. Drizzle over the plate and beets. Serve cold.
Rahul Akerkar

Rahul Akerkar

Rahul Akerkar, the chef-founder of Qualia in Mumbai, was Scroll Food’s Chef of the Month for June. He started his culinary journey 35 years ago in the US, returning to India in 1989. Since then, he has been busy changing the way we eat. Known for setting industry trends with his creative, ingredient-driven cuisine, and warm attentive hospitality, Rahul’s award-winning restaurants secured his position as one of India’s first successful, chef-restaurateurs. In his career, he has won many accolades – he was featured in Asiaweek’s Survey of “Kitchen Gods” in 2001 and was 28 on San Pellegrino’s List of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2013. More recently, he won Chef of The Year at the Times Food Awards 2016, Mumbai. He has been guest chef in several kitchens around the world, authored numerous articles, and frequently consults to the food and hospitality industry.

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