Recipe courtesy of Eric Ripert, Executive Chef, Le Bernardin in New York, NY.
Though a traditional parfait usually includes ice cream, Eric calls this dish a parfait because of its tall shape and creamy texture. Chunks of roasted beet, potato and apple are set up in a ring mould and held together with goat cheese whipped with some sour cream. The trick in this packaging is the vegetables must be room temperature. If they are too hot, the cheese will melt, if they are too cold, the veggies will not have the best flavour. The sharp arugula and the beet-walnut oil sauce elevate the dish …it’s got a beautiful balance. Yield is 6 servings.
ingredients
Fire-Roasted Vegetables
Beet Sauce
Vinaigrette
Assembly
directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Wrap the beets, potatoes and apples separately in aluminium foil so that you have one package of beets, one of potatoes and one of apples.
Season with salt and pepper and add 1 tbsp. of the olive oil to each package.
Place the packages in the oven.
Roast the apples for 12 to 15 minutes or until fork tender.
Roast the beets and potatoes for 35 to 40 minutes or until fork tender.
When the vegetables are cool enough to handle, peel and cut them into 1/2-inch cubes.
You need 60 potato cubes, 60 apple cubes and 96 beet cubes.
Reserve the beet scraps to make the beet sauce and set all the vegetables aside separately at room temperature.
Meanwhile, combine the goat cheese and sour cream in a bowl and stir to blend.
Add the shallot and chives and stir to combine.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
(If making ahead, cover and refrigerate but bring back to room temperature before serving.)
For the sauce, place the beets scraps in a blender with the sherry vinegar and puree to a smooth consistency.
Transfer the beet puree to a bowl and mix in the walnut oil; do not emulsify—this should be a broken vinaigrette.
Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, salt, pepper and vinegar until the salt dissolves.
Constantly whisking, slowly drizzle in the olive oil, then the canola oil.
Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Place a 2-inch wide by 3-inch high ring mould in the centre of each plate and spread 1 tbsp. of the goat cheese mixture in the bottom.
Top the goat cheese in each mould with 10 cubes of potato, another dollop of goat cheese, 10 cubes of apple, another dollop of goat cheese and 10 cubes of beet.
Finish with a layer of goat cheese.
Reserve the remaining beet cubes to garnish around the parfait.
Toss the arugula with enough vinaigrette to coat.
Top each parfait with a bit of arugula salad and remove the ring moulds.
Drizzle the beet sauce around the plates.
Sprinkle the remaining beet cubes and the chives around the parfaits.
Serve immediately.