Yoghurt, balsamic, beetroot

  • Other
  • 20
  • 3 hours plus a day for dehydrating and freezing
5.00

This beetroot pre-dessert recipe from Stuart Ralston is a beautiful fusion of savoury and sweet. It also uses just about every tool in the professional chef's kitchen – liquid nitrogen, steam ovens, pacojets, dehydrators and more. While it's not one for the faint hearted, it's certainly a showstopping dish.

First published in 2023

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Blackberry sorbet

  • 1kg blackberry purée
  • 500g of water
  • 320g of cane sugar
  • 6g of locust bean gum
  • citric acid, to taste

Beetroot glass

  • 392g of beetroot purée
  • 56g of icing sugar
  • 66g of Isomalt sugar
  • 14g of glucose

Candied beetroot

  • 500g of beetroot, peeled and cut into quarters
  • 500g of caster sugar

Yogurt snow

  • 600g of natural yoghurt
  • 200g of milk
  • 160g of cane sugar
  • 2 limes
  • 4 gelatine leaves, bloomed in cold water

Garnish

Equipment

  • Steam oven or steamer
  • Vacuum bag and machine
  • Ice cream maker
  • Espuma gun
  • Liquid nitrogen
  • Thermomix
  • Dehydrator

Method

1

Combine all the ingredients for the blackberry sorbet together and cook out the locust bean gum to 85°C

2

Season with citric acid to taste. Either freeze and then churn in a pacojet before service, or chill overnight and then churn in an ice cream maker and freeze for a few hours to set

  • citric acid, to taste
3

For the beetroot glass, mix all the ingredients and heat in a Thermomix at 60°C until the sugars are dissolved. Alternatively, heat to 60°C on the hob

  • 392g of beetroot purée
  • 56g of icing sugar
  • 66g of Isomalt sugar
  • 14g of glucose
4

Spread on a silpat lined tray and dehydrate at 70°C in a dehydrator or oven until hard – keep an eye on it, as if it’s too hot it will start to cook and discolour

5

Cut out into discs and set aside

6

Place the beetroots and caster sugar in a vacuum bag and seal it

  • 500g of beetroot, peeled and cut into quarters
  • 500g of caster sugar
7

Steam at 85°C in a steam oven until the beetroots are fully cooked, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. They should be reduced in size and chewy in texture. You can alternatively cook them in a simple sugar syrup (250g sugar and 250g water for example) until they are really cooked down and soft and chewy

8

Chill until ready to use

9

Melt all the ingredients for the yoghurt snow together until warm, then add the gelatine and stir until it’s dissolved

  • 600g of natural yoghurt
  • 200g of milk
  • 160g of cane sugar
  • 2 limes
  • 4 gelatine leaves, bloomed in cold water
10

Add the yoghurt snow to an espuma gun with two gas charges

11

Fill a container with liquid nitrogen

12

Disperse the yoghurt snow into the liquid nitrogen and then use a rolling pin to smash it into crumb or ‘snow’ consistency

13

To serve, scoop blackberry sorbet onto each plate bottom, then use the back of the ice cream scoop to make a well. Fill the well with candied beetroot and some aged balsamic. Cover the whole thing with around 2 tbsp of yoghurt snow then finish on top with the beetroot tuile and the sorrel

First published in 2023

Since opening his first Edinburgh restaurant Aizle in 2015, Stuart Ralston has gone on to earn himself a legion of fans both in the Scottish capital and further afield. With four concepts now to his name, each unique in its influence, he has established himself as one of the country’s most ambitious and intriguing culinary talents.

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