Beet And Goat Cheese Bavaroise

Recipes

Possibly one of my favorite combinations, beets and goat cheese…they go together like peaches and cream.

When cooked correctly with the right balance of sweetness and acidity, these earthy root vegetables are out of this world.

Not only tasty, beets are extremely nutrient dense and have also been shown to boost Nitric Oxide in endurance athletes so they can go harder for longer.

Want to make the best beet and goat cheese salad and improve your performance at the same time?

Continue reading for tips on how to craft an epic salad that will also help with your training.

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Beet And Goat Cheese Bavaroise

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs. red and gold beets
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 11 oz. chèvre goat cheese (preferably Laura Chenel)
  • 3 ea. large quince
  • 2 ea. lemons
  • 1 cup macadamia nuts
  • white balsamic vinegar
  • balsamic vinegar
  • grapeseed oil
  • lemon oil
  • chives
  • thyme
  • bay leaves
  • wild fennel pollen
  • silver gelatin sheets
  • sugar
  • glucose
  • diamond kosher salt

Instructions

  1. Step 1: Make the quince paste
  2. Step 2: Cook the beets
  3. Step 3: Make the bavaroise
  4. Step 4: Make the balsamic agrodulce
  5. Step 5: Make the chive oil
  6. Step 6: Prep the salad
  7. Step 7: Make the gold beet sauce
  8. Step 8: Plate
http://epicfoodblog.com/beet-and-goat-cheese-bavarois/

Beet And Goat Cheese Bavaroise Step 1: | Make The Quince Paste

Spaniards calls this paste “Membrillo” and they typically serve it as a snack with Manchego cheese.

Quince is naturally high in pectin and, when pureed and cooked down, it will thicken on its own and turn bright red from the acid in the lemon juice.

Start by peeling and slicing the quince, add it to a sauce pot, and measure out the lemon juice, sugar, and water.

quince paste ingredients

Bring to a simmer, cover with parchment paper, and cook until tender, roughly 30-40 minutes.

cooking the quince

cooking the quince with a paper lid

You will see that the quince starts to change color.

quince starting to change color

Let cool to room temperature, and puree in a vita prep until very smooth.

pureeing the quince until very smooth

Pour the puree back into a sauce pot and cook on low heat.

pouring the quince back into the sauce pot

color of the quince paste starting to change color

Stir the paste until bright red and starts to thicken, roughly 90 minutes.

quince paste starting to thicken and turn bright red

bright red quince paste

To test the consistency, add the warm paste to a frozen plate. It should be thick but still spreadable.

testing the consistency of the quince paste

Cool on a flat sheet pan to room temperature, and add to a piping bag.

cooling the quince paste on a flat sheet pan

quince paste in a piping bag

 

Quince Paste Recipe:

3 large quince (roughly 2 lbs.)

2 cups sugar

2 tbs. lemon juice

2 cups water

Beet And Goat Cheese Bavaroise Step 2: | Cook The Beets

We cook beets in a solution of vinegar, sugar, and water. We cook them slowly until tender, cool them, peel them, and slice them on a mandolin. We cook the red beets separately from the gold beets because of the size difference, and so that the red beets don’t bleed into the gold ones.

To start, trim the ends and stalks of the beets and measure the ingredients.

measured ingredients for cooking the beets

Add the vinegar, sugar, and aromatics to the sauce pot and fill with water until the beets are covered.

beets in cooking solution

Simmer until tender and a cake tester easily pierces through the beet.

cake tester piercing the beet

Remove from the heat and cool until they are easy to handle. Peel the skins using paper towels.

peeling the beets using paper towels

Store in the refrigerator until cold and ready to slice.

beets ready to be stored in the refrigerator

Red Beet Cooking Liquid:

1 cup sugar

1 cup balsamic vinegar

5 sprigs thyme

1 bay leaf

1 ea. lemon zest

(enough water to cover)

Gold Beet Cooking Liquid:

1 cup white balsamic vinegar

1 cup sugar

5 sprigs thyme

1 bay leaf

1 ea. lemon zest

(enough water to cover)

 

Note: Sizes of beets will vary. Larger beets will take slightly longer to cook than smaller beets.

Beet And Goat Cheese Bavaroise Step 3: | Make The Goat Cheese Bavaroise

Crème Bavaroise is a classic desert made of cream that is flavored, and typically  thickened with gelatin.

This is a savory version that gives a silky texture and appearance to the cheese as opposed to being spread or crumbled. The addition of cream and gelatin set the cheese, and can be made a day in advance to save time and be more organized when having guests for dinner.

cream, goat cheese, and silver gelatin sheets

To start, cut a piece of plastic wrap or acetate to fit the size of 2 small sheet pans.

piece of acetate and sheet pan

Next, fully submerge the  silver gelatin sheets in a bowl of ice water and soak for 10 minutes.

fully submerging the gelatin sheets in ice water

Meanwhile, whip one cup of cream to medium peaks and place in the refrigerator.

whipping the cream to medium peaks

In a small sauce pot, heat the remaining cup of cream, squeeze out the water from the gelatin sheets, and add the the warm cream.

squeezing out the water and adding the gelatin sheets to the cream

Whisk until dissolved, bring to just under a boil, add the salt, and pour into a bowl.

whisking the gelatin and the cream until dissolved and pouring into a bowl

Add the crumbled goat cheese to the hot cream and whisk until smooth and incorporated.

adding the crumbled goat cheese and whisking until smooth

smooth goat cheese cream

Once cool, fold in the whipped cream from the refrigerator.

folding in the whipped cream

Once incorporated, add to the the lined sheet pans, tap gently on a flat surface, and smooth out with a small spatula.

adding to cream to the lined sheet pans

tapping gently on a flat surface

spreading evenly with a small spatula

Cover with plastic and refrigerate until set.

 

Goat Cheese Bavaroise Recipe:

2 cups heavy cream

11 oz. chèvre goat cheese

6 sheets silver gelatin

2 tsp. diamond kosher salt

Beet And Goat Cheese Bavaroise Step 4: | Make The Balsamic Agrodulce

Agrodolce means sweet and sour. This is a reduction of balsamic vinegar, sugar, and glucose and is extremely easy to make.

Measure the ingredients.

balsamic agrodulce ingredients

Add to a pot and bring to a simmer for 12 minutes

simmering agrodulce

Test the reduction on a cold plate to check for a fairly thick syrupy consistency.

testing the reduction

Balsamic Agrodulce Recipe:

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup glucose

Beet And Goat Cheese Bavaroise Step 5: | Make The Chive Oil

This is something that can be made a day in advance and kept in the freezer for up to a 2 weeks.  It is extremely easy to make and is one of those additions to a dish that is subtle but absolutely necessary to make the difference between good and great.

Note: Cut your chives before measuring them so they don’t get wrapped up in the blender’s blades.  Also make sure you reserve some raw chives for plating.

Add the chives and grapeseed oil to a vita prep and blend thoroughly on high speed.

chive oil ingredients

Pour contents into a saucepan and heat to 220°F while continually whisking.

chive oil and temperature

Once the temperature has reached 220°F, pull from heat immediately and chill the oil over an ice bath.  Let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour before straining through a coffee filter.

Chive Oil Recipe:

4 cups chives (raw)

1 ½ cups grapeseed oil

finished chive oil

Beet And Goat Cheese Bavaroise Step 6: | Prep The Salad

Being organized is key and will help make plating simple.

Start by toasting the macadamia nuts in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes.

raw macadamia nuts ready to be toasted

toasted macadamia nuts

Once cool, lightly crush the nuts in a Ziploc bag.

Next, using a mandolin, slice the beets 1/4 inch thick.

slicing the beets on a mandolin

Using a ring cutter, stamp out even circles from both the red and gold beets. Make sure to save the scraps from the gold beets for the sauce in step 7.

stamping out circles from the red and gold beets

beet scraps and stamped beets

Next, cut out circles from the bavaroise using a smaller ring cutter.

goat cheese bavaroise being stamped out

Keep the goat cheese refrigerated until ready to plate.

Note: Make sure to save the scraps from the red beets. Pureed and mixed with aromatics and dried fruit, it makes a killer mustard.

Beet And Goat Cheese Bavaroise Step 7: | Make The Golden Beet Sauce

This is a very simple sauce that takes seconds to make.

Start by adding 1 cup of the golden beet scraps to the vita prep along with the white balsamic vinegar.

golen beet scraps and white balsamic vinegar in the blender

Blend until smooth and slowly drizzle in the lemon oil and water. Season with salt and pepper.

blending the beet sauce

adding the lemon oil to the beet sauce

Golden Beet Sauce Recipe:

1 cup golden beet scraps

1 tbs. white balsamic vinegar

2 oz. lemon oil

2 oz. mineral water

Beet And Goat Cheese Bavaroise Step 8: | Plate The Salad

Start by seasoning the sliced beets with olive oil, sea salt, and pepper.

Sauce the plate with the beet sauce, and plate the seasoned beets and bavaroise.

Drizzle the chive oil, balsamic agrodulce, and garnish with the quince paste, cracked macadamia nuts, and fennel pollen.

Conclusion

We are firm believers that you eat with your eyes first. Taking the extra steps to make something look appealing will set your cooking apart from the rest. With that comes a level of higher expectation, so the food has to taste awesome as well.

If you follow these steps and are clean & organized with your time, you will see just how easy this stuff is. This awesome beet and goat cheese salad is a perfect example of that.

We are always seeking inspiration and continually reading about good food. Check out Art Culinaire for motivation to up your cooking game, find the best places to go eat, and get inspired about becoming a better cook. This magazine is one of the top food publications, and they have been doing it since I was born.

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