Kris: Beetroot is in season and if you can get a whole bunch don’t throw away the leaves, you can use them in a salad or cook them like spinach or silver beet. Raspberries are just coming into season here too, so I thought I would make a a tasty salad with beetroot, raspberries and chevre.

Roasted Beetroot, Kriek Poached Raspberries and Chevre

(Serves 2)

4 baby beetroot

fresh raspberries

100ml Cantillion Rose de Gambrinus (or any sour Kriek)

goat’s chevre

thyme and rosemary infused olive oil

fresh dill

salt and cracked pepper

Method

Pre-heat an oven to 160C

Peel and quarter the beets

Place them in a sheet of aluminum foil

Drizzle with infused olive oil and season with salt and pepper

Wrap the beets and bake for 45-60 minutes until tender

While baking, poach some raspberries in the Kriek for a few minutes on low heat

Allow to cool

Remove beets from the oven and allow to cool for a couple of minutes

 Then arrange them on a plate

Crumble over the goats cheese

Gently scatter some of the raspberries on the plate

 Drizzle some of the reduced kriek over the plate

Garnish with dill sprigs and drizzle with olive oil

  Kris: This is a simple and tasty dish to make. I know beetroot and goats cheese have been a staple on a lot of restaurant menus recently, but the Kriek poached raspberries and dill give it an interesting edge. As for matching the Catillion Rose de Gambrinus with the meal, it didn’t work. The beer just overpowered the dish. It is a blend of barrel aged lambic, which goes through a secondary ferment with the addition of fresh raspberries. It is really funky, sour and not a beer for everyday drinking.I do respect this style, in moderation though. I think a Kristallweizen would work as a match to this recipe.

Caroline: This dish was delicious. I love the pairing of beetroot and chevre so much I wasn’t convinced about adding more into the mix, but it really worked! The poached raspberries gave a really nice sour counterpart to the dish. The beer by itself was gross, I am not a fan of sour beers, they just taste, well, sour and off to me. The Cantillon is a Kriek remember those? If not, you can read about it in our Duck Rillettes and Kriek post HERE.