Serves 4
For the Almond Milk
Ingredients:
- 400g almonds
- 500g water
Method:
- Combine the water with the almonds in a blender and pulse to break up almonds into chunks.
- Rest mixture in the fridge 24 hours.
- Blend the almonds and water again and then pass the mixture through a cheesecloth to obtain a smooth and tasty almond milk.
For the Almond Milk Sorbet
Ingredients:
- 400g almond milk (from above)
- Salt
- 50g water
- ½ sheet of 2g gelatin
Method:
- Melt the gelatin in the warmed water.
- Add the almond milk and mix.
- Add salt to taste.
- Place into a Pacojet container and freeze.
For the Candied Beet Slices
Ingredients:
- 1 fresh beetroot
- 200g water
- 40g sugar
Method:
- Place the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Peel and cut the beet using a slicer into 0.1cm thick sheets.
- Place the beet slices into the boiling syrup, then remove from the heat and store in the refrigerator.
For the Cooked Beetroot Purée
Ingredients:
- 200g cooked beetroot
- 200g water
Method:
- Blend the water and cooked beetroot until you obtain a smooth purée.
- Pass through a fine sieve and store in the fridge.
For the Beetroot Foam
Ingredients:
- 300g cooked beetroot purée (from above)
- 1.5 leaves of 2g gelatin.
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 load of N2O
- 1 ½ liter capacity siphon
Method:
- Dissolve the gelatin in 1/3 of the beetroot purée.
- Add the rest of the beetroot purée and some black pepper to taste.
- Pass through a sieve and place into the siphon.
- Close siphon and load with gas.
- Store in the refrigerator for 3 hours.
For the Beetroot Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
- 100g cooked beetroot purée (from above)
- 50g of olive oil
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Method:
- Combine all ingredients without emulsifying the oil.
- Store in the fridge.
For the Garlic Oil
Ingredients:
- 100g extra virgin olive oil
- 6 cloves of garlic
Method:
- Cut the garlic in half with the skin on and add it to the oil.
- Confit at 70ºC for 3 hours, then remove from heat and strain.
- Store at room temperature.
To Serve
Ingredients:
- 40g natural yogurt
- 8 strawberries cleaned and cut in half
- 5g bitter almond oil
- Salt flakes
- 20g of roasted green pistachios, chopped
- 20 beet sprouts
- 20g balsamic vinegar
Finishing and Presentation
- Pass the almond sorbet through the Pacojet.
- Place 4 half strawberries on the edges of a circular plate forming a cross.
- Following the shape of a circle, line the base of the plate with the yogurt and the beet vinaigrette.
- Next to each strawberry, arrange 2 slices of candied beet, making them appear as voluminous as possible.
- Dress the strawberries with 1 drop of bitter almond oil and a little freshly ground black pepper.
- Sprinkle the chopped pistachios evenly around the salad.
- Arrange 5 beet sprouts between the candied beet slices.
- Place a 40g quenelle of almond sorbet in the center of the dish and cover it with 10g of garlic oil and some salt flakes.
- Next to the sorbet, place 5 dots of balsamic vinegar.
- Finish by filling the holes int the salad with 4 rosettes of beet foam.
Recipe Courtesy of Mateu Casañas, Oriol Castro & Eduard Xatruch at 2 Michelin-starred Disfrutar in Barcelona.
Mateu Casañas, Oriol Castro & Eduard Xatruch Chef Feature
Image © Francesc Guillamet.