Certain food marriages have reached the point of exhaustion. Combinations that started as something fresh and delightful have turned into a hapless sight that serves nothing except the habitual individual in search of the same thing. I am thinking here of that ubiquitous pairing beetroot and goat’s cheese. There are many more, of course, but it is this one that pokes its head everywhere on menus all over Ireland.
Do not get me wrong, it is not that I don’t occasionally enjoy the combination. There are reasons why the earthy beets combine well with the gentle acidity of a good artisan goat’s cheese. It is just that there are so many more foods one can pair with beetroot.
Beetroot is a super food in terms of flavour, but it is also high in vitamins and antioxidants. I like to ferment a few whole ones in a 5 per cent salt brine (salt + water) and leave them at room temperature for a few weeks. Fermentation gives foods a sour taste due to the natural lactic acid that develops to help preserve the food. Fermented foods are good for your digestive system.
You can use fermented beetroot as you would fresh beetroot: sliced thinly on a mandolin for a salad or cooked till super soft and made into a delicious purée. For the purée, just whizz up your peeled, cooked beetroot with sherry vinegar.
A nice little starter combines cooked beetroot wedges with sour cream and hazelnut. Cook the fermented beets until you can pass a knife though them. Allow them to cool and then peel them. Cut the beetroot in wedges and season with a little sea salt. Warm some oil in a frying pan and gently fry the beetroot. Turn often to achieve nice caramelised edges. A knob of butter would do no harm. Remove from the heat. I like to serve this dish in the pan. Place a few dollops of sour cream over the beetroot. To finish, grate some freshly roasted hazelnut over the entire dish.
