Beet Caprese
Beetroots are a good source of nutrients, fiber, and many plant compounds. The health benefits of this vegetable include improved heart health and the ability to reduce blood pressure, which may lead to a reduced risk of heart disease. Beetroots are delicious raw but are more frequently cooked or pickled. Their leaves, known as beet greens, can also be eaten. Someone recommended that I eat beets often for my health. I wanted to learn various recipes using beets. They are often overcooked due to their bitter, earthy flavor, but they come alive when paired with bright, tangy flavors or when roasted in the oven until tender and subtly sweet. Until now, I had only used boiled beets in salads, but today I tried making the salad a little differently for presentation. I always regret that the color of red beets doesn’t stain other ingredients. I attempted to make a clean Caprese salad dish by lightly drizzling olive oil over the main ingredient, beets, without overpowering their flavor with lime dressing and added a touch of balsamic for extra flair. The colorful caprese was beautiful to look at, and the taste was good. My husband liked it as well.
Servings: 4
Time: 30 minutes plus 1 hour for boiling beets with cold water
Ingredients:
- 1 red beet, boiled and sliced
- 1 golden beet, boiled and sliced
- 1 fresh mozzarella, sliced
- 1 tomatoes, peeled and sliced
- some greens to taste(basil, mint, baby kale)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- balsamic vinegar to taste(this is optional)
- pine nuts for garnish(this is optional)
For lime dressing:
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice(plus more to taste)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- lime zest to taste
Cooking Instructions:
- Heat a pot over medium-high heat and add 5 cups of water, 1/2 tsp of sea salt, and the beet into the pot. Boil until cooked for 40 minutes(red beet and golden beet must be boiled separately).
2. Check if it’s cooked(if you can stab a fork through the beet easily, it means it’s cooked).
3. Turn off the heat and clean the beet with cold water. Peel the beet and set aside.
4. After cooling down, thinly slice half of the beet using a slicer and slice the other half of the beet into 1/4-inch pieces.
5. Slice the tomatoes very thinly crosswise with a knife and place them in a bowl. In the meantime, boil water using an electric kettle.
6. Pour the hot water into the bowl until the tomatoes are submerged for 1 minute. You can see the tomatoes starting to peel. Now, peel the tomatoes.
7. Slice the mozzarella and tomato into 1/4-inch thick pieces and set them aside.
8. Combine the lime juice, lime zest, garlic, sea salt, black pepper, and extra virgin olive oil in a jar.
9. Shake dressing in jar and keep in a refrigerator.
10. Stack it up and place it on a serving plate.
11. Serve everything together with the dressing.
You can also view this recipe on instagram.
