Roasted Beet Salad With Apricot Goat Cheese Mousse, Pepita Granola, and Smoked Maple
Recipe courtesy of Paul Fisher, Executive Chef, Dallas (Texas) National Golf Club
Ingredients
- For Apricot Goat Cheese Mousse:
- goat cheese - 10 ozs.
- heavy cream - 2-3 Tbsps.
- high-quality apricot preserves - 2-ozs.
- For Smoked Maple Syrup:
- Grade A Maple Syrup - 4 cups
- For Roasted Beets
- red beets - as needed
- For pepita granola:
- walnuts - 4 cups, halves, raw
- pumpkin seeds - 2 cups
- oats - 3 cups
- flaxseed - 1 cup
- coconut flakes, unsweetened - 2 cups
- egg whites - 2 ea., beaten
- water - 4 Tbsps.
- canola oil - 6 Tbsps.
- honey - 2/3 cup
- vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp.
- cinnamon - 1 tsp.
- iodized salt - 1 tsp.
Instructions
Procedure for Apricot Goat Cheese Mousse:
- Whip goat cheese in mixer with the paddle attachment, and add heavy cream to help smooth it out.
- Add apricot preserves to incorporate.
- Mousse should be firm enough to be piped.
Procedure for Smoked Maple Syrup:
- Place maple syrup in a stainless-steel pan and place in a smoker, away from the fire box.
- Smoke syrup for about an hour, then place in a clean container.
- Cool down at room temperature, then store covered at room temperature.
- You won’t need 4 cups for this recipe, but it is good to have more on hand than you need in case the need does arise.
Procedure for roasted beets:
- Roast red beets in oven until a skewer goes in and out with ease
- Peel skin off beets
- Trim rough edges off beets for uniform cutting
- Chill and reserve in cooler.
For pepita granola:
- Preheat oven to 275°F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Pulse walnuts and pumpkin seeds in a food processor a few times to chop the nuts. Do not grind into a fine meal.
- Place into a large bowl, add the oats, flaxseeds, and coconut and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites with the water until bubbly and slightly foamy.
- Add the canola oil, honey, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt and whisk together well.
- Pour the nut mixture into the eggwhite mixing bowl and make sure everything is well coated.
- Spread the granola mixture evenly on the parchment-lined pan and bake for 20 minutes. You will need to stir once every 10 minutes. ALSO, PAT IT DOWN TO LEVEL OUT GRANOLA SO IT COOKS EVENLY and until golden brown or crispy.
- Remove granola from oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes without stirring it; this is where it forms into clusters.
- Use a spatula to get under the granola and break it into large clusters.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
