This Chioggia (pronounced key-OH-jee-uh) Beet Carpaccio is the perfect stand-out vegetarian side dish or appetizer to serve if you want to make a good impression. The thinly sliced beets are dressed simply and served over a bed of their own greens, then garnished with goat cheese (omit if vegan), toasted pine nuts (also called pignoli, piñón, or pinoli), purple scallions, and flaky Maldon salt. That being said, you can use whatever you have at hand (cilantro works really well too) to enhance the dish at the end, or simply garnish with a pinch of flaky salt, because the beets are more than pretty (and tasty) enough to serve on their own.
Chioggia beets (also known as candy-cane beets) are sweet, with a mild earthy taste that’s synonymous with beets. Chioggia beets have a more understated flavor than that of traditional red beets. However, it’s the candy-cane stripes that make Chioggia beets famous. This preparation serves the beets uncooked, with the slight bite from the raw beets tempered by a bit of lime juice in the dressing. It’s important to slice the beets razor-thin, so I recommend using a mandoline, but carefully!
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Heat a small skillet on medium-high until hot. Add the pine nuts and toast for about 5 minutes, stirring or shaking the pan occasionally. Remove when they’re golden brown and fragrant. Set aside to cool while you construct the rest of the dish.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the agave nectar, lime juice, and olive oil. Whisk well until fairly combined (you’re not looking for an emulsion, just a light dressing). Add the beet slices, making sure each slice is coated, and marinate for 10 minutes.
On a serving plate, arrange the beet leaves with the bottoms facing the center. Fan them out so that they look kind of like the shape of a flower.
Lay the dressed beet slices over the leaves, creating concentric circles of overlapping beets, as shown.
Garnish with scallions, goat cheese, toasted pine nuts, and Maldon salt. Serve and enjoy!
Chioggia Beet Carpaccio
Equipment
- mandoline slicer
Ingredients
- 2-3 small Chioggia beets, washed, scrubbed, and sliced very thinly using a mandoline
- 8-12 Chioggia beet leaves, washed, dried, and stems removed
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp Blue Agave nectar (sometimes referred to as agave syrup)
- 1 Tbsp goat cheese (omit if vegan), crumbled
- 2 tsp pine nuts
- 1-2 scallions (cilantro works great too), chopped
- 1-2 pinches Maldon salt (flaky salt)
Instructions
- Heat a small skillet on medium-high until hot. Add the pine nuts and toast for about 5 minutes, stirring or shaking the pan occasionally. Remove when they're golden brown and fragrant. Set aside to cool while you construct the rest of the dish.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the agave nectar, lime juice, and olive oil. Whisk well until fairly combined (you're not looking for an emulsion, just a light dressing). Add the beet slices, making sure each slice is coated, and marinate for 10 minutes.
- On a serving plate, arrange the beet leaves with the bottoms facing the center. Fan them out so that they look kind of like the shape of a flower.
- Lay the dressed beet slices over the leaves, creating concentric circles of overlapping beets, as shown.
- Garnish with scallions, goat cheese, toasted pine nuts, and Maldon salt. Serve and enjoy!