Golden Beet and Cashel Blue Cheese Mousse with Micro greens and Crimson beet vinaigrette

This recipe is part of our St Patrick’s Day celebration. Cashel is a type of blue cheese made in Ireland. It is not overpowering like an aged Stilton. If you can’t find Cashel, you could use a local farmhouse blue cheese such as great Hill. In the tradition of a close-knit village, I’m sure the Irish ancestors would want you to support your local farmers. If Blue isn’t your thing, you could use goat cheese. And, if you don’t like either: Tough luck. Just kidding. Although, Golden Beet and Cashel Blue Cheese Mousse calls for blue cheese, you can substitute any soft cheese. It won’t work with harder cheeses like cheddar, though.

You can always make adjustments based on what you have and what is available. If you can’t find golden beets, another variety will do. St Patrick had been enslaved and forced to work on a farm. He would be happy that you are supporting local farms where the owners do the work themselves, and don’t exploit their laborers.

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Roasted Golden Beets and Cashel Blue Cheese mousse with microgreens and crimson beet vinaigrette

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A reverse variation on a sald with microgreens as a garnish. You can vary it and use full size greens as a base.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

cooling time 1 hour hr

Course Salad

Cuisine Irish

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• 3/4 Lb Fresh Golden Beets
• olive oil, salt, and water to cook the beets
• 4 ounce Micro greens Use what is available locally, either a mix or single green
• For the mousse
• 6 ounce Blue cheese Cashel blue cheese is preferred, but feel free to substitute a nice local farmhouse blue.
• 4 Ounce Cream Cheese
• 1/3 cup heavy or whipping cream
• Salt and pepper to taste
• For the vinaigrette
• 1 ounce honey
• 1/2 cup beet vinegar Can substitute red wine vinegar and add a little beet to it
• 1/2 cup Neutral oil A walnut oil would go nicely here as well.
• 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 tsp chopped thyme
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Roast the beets. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss beets with a little oil, salt, pepper and water, put in a deep pan, cover with foil and put beets in oven.
• Cook for about 1 hour. Check to see if the beets are cooked by sticking a knife in or squeezing. There should be some give, but not too much.
• Allow beets to cool until they are easy to handle. Then peel. The skin should come off easily with the help of a paring knife. Try scraping with the knife before resorting to cutting off the skin. If the skin is moist enough, you may even be able to rub off the skin with your fingers.
• Cut the beets in a shape you prefer. For our presentation, I would go with slices or wedges.
• Make the Mousse:
• Mix the blue cheese, cream cheese, salt, and pepper in a food processor until smooth.
• In a separate bowl, whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. You can do this either by hand or in a mixer.
• Fold the cream into the cheese mixture.
• Make the vinaigrette: Place all ingredients except for oil into a blender. Turn on high speed and drizzle in the oil until an emulsion forms.
• Arrange the beets in the center of the plate. Put the mousse in a pastry bag with a wide tip. Pipe the mousse on top of or in the middle of the beets. You can do layers if you prefer. garnish with Micro greens and drizzle the vinaigrette around the plate and a little over the top.

  Serve imediately.

Notes

We use golden beets here. You can use whatever beets are available in your market.

For the mousse, you can substitute sour cream or creme Fraiche for the heavy cream. You won’t have to whip them. The mousse won’t be as fluffy, but you can hold it longer. Hand whipped cream tends to break down after a while and the liquid separates out.

I used a beet vinaigrette I made at home. It is not a common ingredient. So, feel free to substitute. Most vinegar with a sweeter flavor will do.

You can add nuts to the dish if you like. Candied walnuts or pecans would be a nice addition. We didn’t use them here, because we tend to stay away from nuts for allergic people. But, feel free if you know there are no allergies.

You could also add a second drizzle of a nice herb oil like chive or sage oil so the green and red drizzles accent each other.

Keyword Beet, Blue Cheese, Beet inaigrette, microgreens, salad, first course, mousse