Goat Cheese Parfait with Golden Beets

As starters go, this goat cheese parfait with golden beets, apples, potatoes with olive vinaigrette packs a wow factor. Didn’t expect that. This dish won’t catch my attention on the list of starter in a restaurant menu because it sounds so ordinary. Well, perhaps the goat cheese and the golden beets are the standouts. Other ingredients in the recipe are fairly familiar everyday items. The apples, potatoes and olives. But, when you see this plate of food, it whets your appetite. As you take a forkful with everything on it, you can’t put your fork down. This has to be the most delicious, beautiful and sophisticated plate of starter I’ve ever put together. Nothing even comes close.

The success of this dish has everything to do with the prep work and the plating design. Eric Ripert puts together this goat cheese parfait with golden beets recipe with a lot of finesse and expertise in fine dining. I looked over the recipe and the picture repeatedly so that I won’t miss any detail. In fact, it is how you slice and dice the beets, apples, potatoes and olives which affects the final outcome — the texture and the mouthfeel. This recipe is challenging when it comes to knife skills. I had to stay focused so I don’t cut my fingers.

When was the last time you see the word “chiffonade” in a recipe? You have to be impressed with how all the ingredients come together in one bite. The funkiness of the goat cheese, the earthy sweetness of the golden beets, the crunchiness of the apple and the saltiness of the olive. All served up in one tasty bite.

Meanwhile, I learn a lot about plating from chef Ripert in this recipe. I have been using the ring mold in my dishes quite a bit lately. It is a very effective tool to highlight the key ingredients, front and center, on the plate. The rest just falls into place in the concentric circle. I have to remember this smart geometric design. It works!

Fold chives and shallots into the goat cheese

Goat cheese mixture are placed in the ring mold in the center

Golden beets, arugula and olive vinaigrette are placed around the ring

Happy Independence Day!

Print Recipe

Goat Cheese Parfait with Golden Beets, Apples, Potatoes and Olive Vinaigrette

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 large yellow beets
• 2 Cortland or Macintosh apples (I used Honeycrisp)
• 2 Yukon gold potatoes
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 lb. goat cheese, softened at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons crème fraiche
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 tablespoons sliced chives
• 1 cup mixed olives, pitted
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 12 leaves flat leaf parsley, chiffonade
• 25-35 leaves baby arugula
• Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2

Place each beet, apple, and potato on an aluminum foil sheet. Rub each with a drop of canola oil, salt and pepper and wrap individually in the foil. Place on a baking tray and place into the oven. The apples will finish first in about 10-15 minutes, followed by the potatoes at 20-30 minutes, followed by the beets in 30-40 minutes. The exact cooking time will depend on the size of each item but the apples, beets, and potatoes are done when they are tender but not falling apart. Once each item is finished, they should be allowed to cool slightly and kept in a warm place.

3

While the apples and vegetables are cooking, put the goat cheese and crème fraiche and extra virgin olive oil into a medium sized bowl. Stir together with a rubber spatula until it is creamy. Add the shallots, chives, salt and pepper to the goat cheese and mix together.

4

In the bowl of a small food processor, pulse the olives until they are finely chopped, but not pureed. Transfer the chopped olives into a small bowl and add the extra virgin olive oil, sherry vinegar and parsley.

5

Remove the skins and peels of the cooked potatoes, apples, and beets. Dice each into medium-small pieces and keep in separate bowls. Season each with salt and pepper.

6

Add 2 tablespoons of the olive mixture and the diced potatoes and apples to the goat cheese mixture and stir together.

7

Place a 3-inch ring mold in the center of each plate. Fill each mold with the goat cheese mixture and slowly and carefully remove the ring molds, pushing down on the top with the back of a spoon or spatula while lifting up on the mold if necessary. Garnish the plate with a few dices of yellow beet around each molded goat cheese. Drizzle the olive vinaigrette around the plate and on top of the arugula, goat cheese, and beets. Serve immediately.

Notes

http://www.aveceric.com/all-recipes/western-australia-goat-cheese-parfait-with-golden-beets-apples-potatoes-and-olive-vinaigrette