Ingredients – Serves 6 as a first course
- 1 bunch of red beets (4 to 5 medium beets)
- 6 Clementines
- 1 bunch Persian Cress (substitute other small leaf peppery green if not available)
- 3 sprigs fresh spearmint
- 1 scallion
- ¼ cup virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup toasted pinenuts
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Preparation
- Wash the beets and steam them until tender, about 15 minutes. Save the beet greens for another use.
- Once cool enough to touch, peel and dice the beets.
- Zest 3 clementines with a bartender zester. This will give you nice long curls of zest that look pretty and add texture to the dish.
- Using a sharp knife, cut both ends of the clementines off. Squeeze the juice from the end pieces over a bowl, using your hands. Add the clementine zest and reserve.
- Peel the center part of each clementine, and cut slices ¼” thick from each fruit. The slices will look like flowers. Be delicate so they don’t come apart.
- Pluck the mint leaves.
- Make your dressing: Mash the mint leaves and scallion together in a mortar with a little kosher salt and pepper. Add the pinenuts, reserving a few for garnish. Crush the pinenuts coarsely. Add the juice and zest, whisk, and drizzle in the olive oil. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper if desired.
- Lightly dress the beets and the cress, separately.
- Assembly: Spoon a bit of dressing on each plate.
- Make a base of seasoned beets.
- Top with a small mound of cress.
- Arrange clementine slices around.
- Garnish with a few whole pinenuts and mint leaves.