A thing of beauty for beautiful cause
If you have traveled to Marfa, you probably know the restaurant Cochineal, famous for casual fine dining in West Texas.
This month executive chef/ owner Alexandra Gates, a breast cancer survivor, is serving a special menu, including Cochineal’s beautiful beetroot salad, for Breast Cancer Awareness. A dollar from every salad sold goes toward the Susan G. Komen Foundation, a nonprofit source of funding for the fight against breast cancer. Here’s Gates’ recipe, which produces a beautiful salad with two different beet purées:
Cochineal Beetroot Salad
2 bunches beets (about 12 small to medium size) 1⁄4 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar 2 teaspoons salt
10 ounces chèvre (Texas goat cheese), divided 1⁄4 cup (or less) pasteurized goat’s milk
2 cups plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
1⁄2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 egg white
1 pinch cayenne
3 cups pecans
1 teaspoons apple cider vinegar Garden greens, at least 8 cups Instructions: Trim and boil beets until knife inserts easily (approximately
20-30 min). Peel by rubbing a towel over beets (peel will come off easily).
Red beet purée: Using a food processor, blend 4 beets with 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon salt
Pink beet purée: Using a food processor, blend 2 beets with half of the goat cheese, adding a little goat’s milk to loosen it up and blend until smooth and bright pink. Roasted beets: Cut the remainder of the beets into wedges, toss with 2 teaspoons olive oil and a couple punches salt
Roast in oven at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. For the pecans: 1 egg white whisked with 1 teaspoon salt, 1 pinch cayenne and 1⁄4 cup sugar. Stir in 3 cups pecans until coated. Spray a sheet pan with oil and spread pecans evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until toasted and, using a spatula, stir and flip to make sure all sides baked evenly.
Balsamic vinaigrette: Blend 1⁄2 cup balsamic vinegar with pinch salt and pepper and 2 cups olive oil and teaspoon apple cider vinegar.
Assembly: Toss a couple of handfuls fresh picked lettuce (about 2 cups) with a tablespoon or more of balsamic vinaigrette.
Place a dollop of pink goat cheese1 blend on plate and spread to coat ⁄ of 2 bottom of plate; do the same with sorbet on the opposite side of plate (like yin yang symbol).
Top with tossed garden greens, some of the roasted beets, and sprinkle some of the reserved goat cheese on top with a handful of pecans. Make sure the pink shows around the edge of the salad. Top with a drizzle with more vinaigrette or a good quality olive oil and cracked black pepper. Source: Cochineal chef/owner Alexandra Gates Makes 4 servings