Salt-baked beetroot with macadamia and mulberry

Name: Salt-baked beetroot with macadamia and mulberry
Total time: 1 h
Yield: Serves 4 as a starter
Ingredients: 3 medium golden beetroots, trimmed; 3 medium purple beetroots, trimmed; 700g fine salt; 75g (about 3) egg whites; 150g raw macadamia nuts; ½ lemon, juiced; 1 clove garlic; 100ml olive oil; 8 mulberries or blackberries, halved; 40ml sherry vinegar; 20 (optional) tarragon leaves; bottarga (salted, cured mullet rose), optional

Preparation and cooking time
- Total time1 hr
- + Cooling
Easy
Serves 4 as a starter

Ingredients

3 medium golden beetroots, trimmed
3 medium purple beetroots, trimmed
700g fine salt
75g (about 3) egg whites
150g raw macadamia nuts
½ lemon, juiced
1 clove garlic
100ml olive oil
8 mulberries or blackberries, halved

TO SERVE

40ml sherry vinegar
20 (optional) tarragon leaves
bottarga (salted, cured mullet rose), optional

Method

STEP 1
Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180/gas 6. Arrange the beets on a tray lined with baking paper. Mix the salt and egg whites until completely combined. Mould the mixture around each beetroot then put in the oven and bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middles meets no resistance. Cool a little.
STEP 2
In a blender, combine the macadamias, 160ml of water and the lemon juice, then grate in the garlic. Blend on high for 5 minutes until as smooth as possible. With the blender running, pour in 40ml of the olive oil and let it emulsify. Season with salt.
STEP 3
Break away the salt layers and peel the beetroots, discarding the peels, stalks and salt. Cut the yellow beets into ½cm slices and halve or quarter the purple beets.
STEP 4
Spoon the sauce onto a plate. Fan out the yellow beetroots, then place the purple beets on top.
STEP 5
Top with the berries and spoon over the sherry vinegar, remaining oil and tarragon leaves, if using, then grate over some bottarga, if you like.