From Secession
Secession is a French-Italian brasserie celebrating a collaborative menu between Chefs David Bouley and Cesare Casella. The menu showcases the kind of food David Bouley would like to eat when he's not behind the stove.
Roasted Organic Beets with Horseradish Fromage Blanc and Pumpkin-Seed Dressing
Recipe makes 1 terrine or 12 appetizer servings.
Beet Layers
8 to 10 medium red beets
(or 2.25 lbs)
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tbsp canola oil
shy 2 cups balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp champagne vinegar
2 cups white beef stock
2 cups beet juice
salt and pepper
leaf gelatin
Fromage Blanc
leaf gelatin (2 sheets plus
1 inch broken crosswise)
1/2 cup plus
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup crème fraîche
1/2 cup prepared horseradish
1/3 cup whipping cream
salt and pepper
lemon juice
Pumpkin-Seed Dresing
1/2 tsp canola oil
1/8 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seed oil
1 tsp sherry vinegar
salt and pepper
For the Beet Layers:
Roast the beets in a covered, heavy-bottomed roasting pan, sprinkling them first with caraway seeds and a bit of canola oil and adding a 1/2 cup of water. Roast them in a 400-degree oven for 3 to 5 hours, turning the beets often to make sure they don't burn. Add more water if it evaporates.
When the beets are extremely soft, let them cool for a few minutes and then rub off their skins with a towel. Slice the beets about 1/4-inch thick and lay them in a large shallow pan. Mix the balsamic and champagne vinegars, the white beef stock, and the beet juice in a bowl. Season well with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture over the beets and marinate for at least 8 hours.
Weigh the beets and marinating liquid. For every kilogram of liquid, you will need 17 grams of leaf gelatin. Soak, or bloom, the gelatin sheets in cold water until soft. Gently heat the beet mixture so that the gelatin will combine smoothly with it. Pour a little of the marinating liquid over the gelatin in a small saucepan, and heat and whisk until the gelatin melts completely into the liquid. Strain the liquid into the rest of the beet mixture.
Glaze the bottom of a terrine mold with a thin layer of liquid and refrigerate. When set, fill the terrine with beets, piecing them together like a puzzle. Make about three layers, covering each finished layer with a thin glaze of liquid, until the layers come within about 1/3 the height of the terrine mold. Pour enough liquid on top of the third or final layer to make a smooth, flat surface. Refrigerate.
For the Fromage Blanc:
Bloom the gelatin for the fromage blanc in cold water. Mix the sour cream, crème fraîche, and horseradish together. Warm the mixture a bit so the gelatin can incorporate smoothly, and whip the cream to soft peaks. Heat the softened gelatin with a little of the sour cream mixture in a pan on the stove, whisking until the gelatin melts completely into it. Strain this into the rest of the cream mixture. Fold in the whipped cream and season to taste with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Pour the fromage blanc onto the set layers of beets in the terrine mold. Let set until firm.
To finish the terrine, warm some of the red beet liquid (it should be just warm, not hot). Pour onto the fromage blanc and then fill the terrine up to the top with layers of beets and glaze. Be sure to pour a good amount of liquid on the top layer. Refrigerate until set.
For the Pumpkin-Seed Dresing:
Pop the pumpkin seeds in a hot skillet, sprinkling with a little canola oil. When most of them have popped, season them with salt and pepper. Drop a handful of pumpkin seeds into the pumpkin seed oil. Add a little sherry vinegar, just enough to give it a little tartness (it should not be sour), and season with salt and pepper.
Assembly :
Unmold the terrine by passing a knife around the inside of the mold. Pour hot water on all sides of the mold. Turn terrine upside down onto a cutting board. Slice the terrine into 1-inch-wide slices. Serve with a small salad and drizzle with pumpkin-seed dressing.