Robin Gill’s Smoked Beetroot Tartare

When chef Robin Gill started smoking ingredients, he became slightly obsessed with it. In his new cookbook Larder he writes: “I started with the obvious, salmon, and moved on to meat like game, pigeon and venison, then to bone marrow (our smoked bone marrow butter became kind of legendary). We even started smoking ice creams. Playing around with smoking fruit and vegetables was exciting and opened up so many possibilities. Beetroot worked immediately. It’s one of my favourite vegetables because of its versatility. I find the large ruby beetroot to be quite meaty so we thought up a play on a beef tartare. But not in the way of veggie burgers and vegan sausages. I hate that stuff! It is kind of fun to dress this tartare as you would imagine it being served in a Parisian brasserie.”

Smoked Beetroot Tartare

Serves 6

For The Hung Yoghurt:

200g plain yoghurt

Method:

Line a large sieve with muslin and set it over a deep bowl. Put the yogurt into the sieve, then gather up the edges of the cloth and secure them together. Leave in the fridge overnight to allow the liquid to drain out of the yogurt (this liquid, or whey, can be reserved and used in ferments).

For The Smoked Beetroot:

500g raw beetroots
A drizzle of vegetable oil
Rock salt
Applewood chips for smoking

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C fan/210°C/Gas Mark 6-7. Drizzle each beetroot with oil, sprinkle with salt and wrap individually in foil. Bake for 1-1½ hours or until the core temperature reaches 90°C. Remove from the oven and allow to cool and steam in the foil for 15 minutes. Remove from the foil and rub off the skins.

2. Take a flat tray with a steam insert (such as a deep roasting tray that will hold a flat steaming rack) and spread the applewood chips over the bottom of the tray. Warm the tray over a medium heat until the chips start to smoke, then turn the heat down to low. Place the beetroot on the steam insert/steaming rack and set this over the smoking chips. Completely cover the top and sides tightly with oven-safe cling film so the smoke is sealed inside with the beetroot. Leave to lightly smoke for 7 minutes. Remove the beetroot from the tray and leave to cool.

For The Brined Egg Yolks:

500ml 7% brine (see note below)
10 egg yolks (we use CackleBean) – this allows for a few breakages
A drizzle of vegetable oil

Method:

Pour the brine into a deep bowl. Gently add the yolks using your hands or a slotted spoon. Cover the surface of the brine with the vegetable oil so that the yolks are held down in the brine. Allow the yolks to brine for 1 hour at room temperature. To serve, gently remove the yolks with your hands or a slotted spoon.

To Assemble:

240g Smoked Beetroot
1 tablespoon shallot vinegar
2 tablespoons capers
A drizzle of Ember Oil
Maldon sea salt and cracked black pepper
Handful fresh hazelnuts, finely sliced
Bittercress or watercress to garnish

Mince the fermented and smoked beetroot through a mincer or chop finely with a knife. Season with the shallot vinegar, capers, ember oil and some salt and pepper. Using a small ring mould, make a disc of the beetroot mixture in the centre of each plate. Top with a layer of the hazelnut slices. Gently place a brined egg yolk to the side of each disc. Garnish with cracked black pepper and bittercress or watercress. Place a spoonful of the hung yoghurt to the side of each disc.

NOTE:

Salt and brines: A brine is a mixture of salt and water. The salt is added to the water and brought just to the boil to dissolve the salt, then allowed to cool before use. We make brines of different strengths based on the amount of salt that is added. This is expressed as a percentage in relation to the amount of water. So, for example, a 2% brine means that the weight of salt added is 2% of the weight of the water. In other words, for a litre of water (which weighs 1kg) you would need to add 20g of salt.

Extract taken from Larder by Robin Gill (Absolute Press, £26) out 17^th May 2018
Photography © Paul Winch-Furness