Beetroot Carpaccio with Goat Cheese

It has been way too long since I last shared a recipe (or post for that matter) here on the blog. The end of last year was the busiest time of my life. Sounds dramatic, but with the move, lots of work (which is a good thing, by all means) and some other projects in the making, I barely stepped foot into the kitchen other than for my daily porridge or a sneaky piece of dark chocolate. However, we did manage to have friends over to our new place for an intimate little dinner party. Mike made his incredible Bolognese pasta and I was in charge of the appetizer: Beetroot carpaccio with goat cheese, lemon zest and walnuts. And burrata with tomatoes, because the beet carpaccio is one of my personal favorites but I feel like both beets and goat cheese are very divisive ingredients that you either love or hate!

Jump straight to the Recipe

A few years back, my cousine made an incredible beetroot carpaccio topped with bacon bits and mozzarella. Said carpaccio was my inspiration for this recipe, but I wanted to skip the bacon since bolognese as a main dish was meat-heavy enough. And since we were having burrata as the other appetizer I felt that the mozzarella would be too similar. I exchanged the cheese and added crunch with walnuts instead of crispy bacon and was so smitten with the outcome that I have made it twice since. Just for me, myself and I for a quick and easy lunch. The best thing about this beetroot carpaccio recipe is the fact that it looks much more impressive than it is to make. Such a winner for hosting guests, if you ask me!

Ingredients

Beetroot Carpaccio with Goat cheese

• 500 gr cooked beets
• 75 gr goat cheese or feta
• 3-5 walnuts, crushes/chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar or lemon juice
• salt, pepper
• 1 organic lemon (for the zest)
• fresh parsley

Instructions

1. I usually go by the lazy-girl method and buy pre-cooked beets. They should be available at most supermarkets. So simply unpack & rinse. If you prefer to cook your own beets, feel free to do so, however, it will alter the prep time for this recipe.
2. Once the cooked beets are ready to go (washed or cooled), use a handheld vegetable slicer (I have something along the lines of this) or sharp knife to thinly slice the beets.
3. On a platter, lay out the sliced beets, slightly overlapping.
4. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil and white balsamic vinegar or lemon juice.
5. Roughly chop or break (I usually just use my hands) the walnuts and sprinkle over seasoned beets.
6. With a cheese grater (or any suitable tool you may find in your kitchen), prepare the lemon zest. For this step, make sure to only use organic lemons and rinse well.
7. Last but not least, crumble the goat cheese over the beetroot carpaccio and add a bit of fresh parley.

*This recipe serves 4 appetizer portions or 2 larger portions, for example as a big salad for lunch.

Looking for more healthy recipes? Be sure to give my Winter Kale Salad or the Broccoli & Sweet Potato Tofu Bowl a try!