Australian Gourmet Traveller - (06)June 2019 (1)

12 unpeeledmixedbeetroot

(800gm),suchasdarkred,

goldenandchioggia,

trimmed

1 tbspoliveoil

2 thymeorkunzeasprigs

(seenote)

200 gmcrèmefraîche

1 bunchchives,thinlysliced

Finelygratedzestandjuice

of1 lemon

30 gmbottarga(seenote),

finelygratedona

microplane

50 mlblackcurrantvinegar

(seenote)

50 mlextra-virginoliveoil

10 gmsaltedelderberries

(seenote)

Tarragonleaves,fennel

frondsordillsprigs,toserve

1 Preheatovento160°C.Place

halfthebeetrootona pieceof

foillargeenoughtoenclose

them.Drizzlewithhalfthe

olive oil, add a sprig of thyme

Roastedbeetrootwith

bottargaandcrèmefraîche

SERVES4-6// PREPTIME 20 MINS// COOK1 HR(PLUSCOOLING)

“Wehavesomanyfarmersthatgrowgreat

beetrootdownhere,I’veevenhadanancient

varietygrownjustforus– thecrapaudine

beet,”saysGregory.“Generallywearepretty

luckyandcangetamazingyellow,chioggia

andredbeetseasily.Thisis howI liketo

eatthem.I’veusedsaltedelderberriesand

blackcurrantvinegarbecausetheseare

someofmypantrystaplesthatI preserve

throughouttheyearwhentheingredients

arereadilyavailable.”AtFranklin,Gregory

addskunzea(myrtle)tothebeetrootwhile

roastingandmakesherownblackcurrant

vinegarandsaltedelderberries;we’ve

included substitutes.Pictured p97.

orkunzea,seasontotaste,

andenclosetomakea parcel.

Repeatwithremainingbeetroot.

Bakeuntilbeetrootaretender

whenpiercedwitha knife

(45minutesto1 hour;seenote).

Cool,thenpeelandthinlyslice.

2 Whiskcrèmefraîcheina

bowlwithchives,lemonzest

andjuice,andbottargauntil

softpeaksform.

3 Whiskvinegar,extra-virgin

oliveoilandsaltedelderberries

ina bowltocombine.

4 Spreadcrèmefraîcheon

a flatplate,arrangebeetroot

slicesontop,dressliberally

withvinaigretteandtopwith

tarragontoserve.

NoteKunzea,a typeofmyrtle,is

availablefromselectnurseries.

Bottargais availablefrom

selectfishmongers.Tomake

blackcurrantvinegar,adda few

frozenblackcurrantstogood-

qualitysherryvinegar.Salted

elderberriescanbesubstituted

withsmallfreshorthawed

frozenblackberriessprinkled

withsalt.Beetrootparcelscan

alsobecookedburiedin coals.

Winesuggestion See tartare

recipe, left.➤

BruceKemp,Forbes

Appleby,Annalise

Ringuet,MikeyShort

and Kobi Ruzicka