Beetroot carpaccio is definitely one of the top dishes of this summer. Either as a main dish or as a starter, it will make an incredibly refreshing dish. And when you add a burrata and a sweet mango dressing to it, you will dance of joy. What more could you ask for?
I’ve always seen only red beetroot in a glass, cooked whole, raw or as a drink. And then I found the yellow beetroot. I simply had to have it! Such a humble root when looking at it from the outside, with dull, brown-grey skin. But after you cut it open, you see some magnificent, bright colours shining at you. And so did mine, one dark pink-red and the other one bright yellow. These colours really remind you of spring and summer. Don’t they?
Beetroot carpaccio is very easy to make. Moreover, it’s healthy and flavourful. With the difference of other beetroot carpaccios, I used a raw beetroot. Cooking or roasting them would take away the crunch, that I wanted. I love the crunch and I love the earthy, kind of a sweet flavour that beetroot has.
In addition to beetroot carpaccio, I wanted a special dressing as well. I like it when a dressing produces an explosion of flavours in your mouth. Therefore, I made a fantastic mango dressing. Mango is a sweet fruit, but not too sweet. And at the same time, it has this intense flavour, which makes it perfect for this dressing.
To sum up, we have crunchy and raw beetroot and the sweet mango dressing. The only thing missing is the creamy burrata. Burrata rocks! Oh, I love it! This soft and delicate cheese made with mozzarella and cream is just heavenly good.
In conclusion, just to let you know, I used only half of each beetroot in this recipe. You can use the rest for delicious soups or some colourful pancakes. But, go on, use as much as you like. And maybe a quick tip; before you start peeling the beetroot, especially the red one, you might want to wear some gloves and maybe an apron as well. The red beetroot tends to leave it’s colour on your hands, cutting board, clothes etc. He he he.
Ingredients for 2 portions of beetroot carpaccio:
- 1 Tbsp of coriander seeds (toasted)
- ½ a mango
- 1 garlic clove
- ½ a lemon (juice and zest)
- a pinch of chili flakes
- 60-70 ml olive oil
- 2 tsp of honey
- a pinch of salt
- ½ red beetroot (peeled and sliced)
- ½ yellow beetroot (peeled and sliced)
- 2 Tbsp apple vinegar
- 2 burrata
- radish cress (optional)
For the dressing, toast the coriander seeds for a couple of minutes in a small pan with some olive oil. Peel the mango and cut half of it into a blender. You can use the other half to make a delicious cream, ice cream, salad or simply eat it with some yoghurt.
Add the peeled garlic, lemon juice and zest, honey, olive oil, chili flakes, toasted coriander seeds and a pinch of salt to the mango and blend for 20 seconds or until smooth. Transfer it to a bowl and keep it aside.
Furthermore, for the carpaccio, prepare two plates, where you are going to “marinate” the beetroot slices. Peel the beetroots, starting with the yellow one. Simply use a potato peeler. I peeled and sliced the yellow one first, in order to prevent its colouring by the red one.
Then slice it into 1-2mm thin slices (either using a knife or a mandoline) and place them on one plate. As mentioned earlier, I cut only half of the beet and wrapped the other half in a cling film to put in the fridge.
In a small bowl, mix some olive oil and vinegar and drizzle half of it on the yellow slices. Give it a little toss. Then, peel and slice the red beetroot. Put the slices on the other plate and drizzle them with the vinegar mixture as well.
Finally, place the slices slightly overlapping on the plate, add the creamy burrata in the middle and drizzle with the sweet mango dressing. In the end, I added some radish cress for the styling and presented the beetroot carpaccio on a big plate (for two people).
Enjoy!
