Tasting of beetroot

Assorted beetroot. Photo courtesy of The Anam

Tasting of beetroot

Charred, powdered, pickled, pureed and glazed

Ingredients:

For charred

5 grams of beetroot

Thyme leaf, salt and pepper

For powdered

1kg of beetroot

For pickled

200 grams of pink beetroot

200ml of water

100ml of white vinegar

50 grams of salt

80 grams of sugar

Thyme leaf

For pureed

500 ml of beetroot juice

5 grams of gellan gum

5 grams of salt

0.5 grams of Xanthan gum

For glazed

20 grams of beetroot

100 ml of beetroot juice

8 grams of salt

10 grams of sugar

The Anam’s Executive Chef Peter Ye

Method:

For charred:

Cut beetroot into rectangles (1x7x4), season with salt and pepper. Then transfer to a vacuum bag then sous vide at 85°C for about 3 hours.

For powdered

Slice the beetroot very finely on a mandoline and place into a dehydrator overnight at 65°C. Once dehydrated, transfer to a blender and blitz into a coarse powder.

For pickled

Begin by making the pickled beetroot. Bring all of the ingredients (except the beetroot) to the boil then leave to cool. Then transfer to a vacuum bag then sous vide at 85°C for about 3 hours.

For pureed

Combine and mix dry ingredients gently by hand. Whisk dry ingredients into the liquid. Place in a pot over medium heat. The gellan needs to heat to 95°C to hydrate. Pour the liquid into a bowl or a pan over an ice bath. You will notice after a few seconds that the mixture has started to gel where it is coldest. Slowly mix until completely cool, or place in the fridge until cool to touch. Once the gel is fully set it should be brittle and firm – then transfer to the blender. Begin blending on low. Then pass gel through a fine-mesh sieve. Removing air from the gel in a vacuum chamber will yield a deeper color and more transparent appearance.

For glazed

Small dice beetroot then cook with all ingredients until it becomes glazed.