Smoked Beet Carpaccio

Beets aren’t typically something you think of when talking bbq. In fact probably one of the last things you think about. But, last year while I was in Florida, I was lucky enough to try out Francis Mallmann's Miami restaurant Los Fuegos, and beets and other root vegetables very much play a part in live-fire cooking. The meal was great but one of the standout dishes of the night easily were the beets, so I thought I’d throw my own version together making Smoked Beet Carpaccio. Using golden and red beets I smoked them at 325F for about an hour and a half. This allows the beet to be tender and cooked without being mushy. The smoke penetrates the root vegetable just enough to give it new almost bonfire-esque meaty flavour (no dirt taste). Topped off with Stracciatella cream (cream marinated Buffalo mozzarella) a ton of earthy olive oil, some basil gremolata, Malden salt and crushed pistachios. Easily one of those dishes you never saw coming. If you want to find out how to make my Smoked Beet Carpaccio, keep reading or jump to the full recipe.

Set smoker to 350F. Place the whole beets in the smoker for an hour and a half.

In a bowl, break up the mozzarella with your hands. Add 2 tbsp of cream and black pepper and mix. Grate in the lemon zest and garlic. Mix. Add in 1 tbsp of cream and mix. Set aside.

Chop the fresh basil, drizzle with olive oil and continue to finely chop. Place in a bowl and set aside.

Remove the beets from the smoker. Peel the red beet and cut into quarters.

 Place on the grill with a squeeze of lemon juice and allow to char, turning to sear each side.

While these cook, peel the golden beets and thinly slice into rounds. Chop the pistachios.

To plate, layer the golden beet slices so they are slightly overlapping, to cover the base of your plate, then the fire grilled red beets on top.

Place dollops of the cheese on the beets and sprinkle with the basil oil, drizzle with olive oil, and top with the chopped pistachios and Maldon salt.

And now for the full recipe...

Smoked Beet Carpaccio

Serves 1-2 people

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 large red beet

2-3 golden beets

2 medium balls or 1 large ball of fresh mozzarella

3 tbsp cream

¼ tsp black pepper

Juice and zest from ½ a lemon

1 clove garlic, grated

¼ cup fresh basil, chopped

½ tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp chopped pistachios

Drizzle olive oil for garnish

Maldon salt

How to Make Smoked Beet Carpaccio

Set smoker to 350F. Place the whole beets in the smoker for an hour and a half.

In a bowl, break up the mozzarella with your hands. Add 2 tbsp of cream and black pepper and mix. Grate in the lemon zest and garlic. Mix. Add in 1 tbsp of cream and mix. Set aside.

Chop the fresh basil, drizzle with olive oil and continue to finely chop. Place in a bowl and set aside.

Remove the beets from the smoker. Peel the red beet and cut into quarters. Place on the grill with a squeeze of lemon juice and allow to char, turning to sear each side. While these cook, peel the golden beets and thinly slice into rounds. Chop the pistachios.

To plate, layer the golden beet slices so they are slightly overlapping, to cover the base of your plate, then the fire grilled red beets on top. Place dollops of the cheese on the beets and sprinkle with the basil oil, drizzle with olive oil, and top with the chopped pistachios and Maldon salt.

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