Chef Matthew Lightner of Castagna – Portland, OR
Grapefruit-Beet Sorbet:
1 kilogram cooked beets
350 milliliters grapefruit juice
125 grams of sugar
100 milliliters water
2 grams salt
Candied Beet:
1/2 kilogram beets
1 liter water, mixed with 30 grams hydrated lime
500 grams sugar
2 liters water, plus more for cooking
Bavarian Malt:
5 grams black malt powder
100 grams water
100 grams sugar
1/2 gram baking soda
Brown Butter Sable:
225 grams butter, cold and cut small dice
150 grams sugar
479 grams all-purpose flour
155 grams almond
80 grams warmed brown butter
Frozen “Curdled” Cream:
250 milliliters fresh high quality cream
25 grams sugar
To Assemble and Serve:
Grapefruit segments
Fresh lemon balm
For the Grapefruit-Beet Sorbet:
Puree the beets with the grapefruit juice, sugar, water, and salt; freeze in a Pacojet following the manufacturer’s instructions. Reserve.
For the Candied Beet:
Peel, break, and soak the beets for three hours in the lime mixture. Meanwhile, dissolve the sugar in the water to create a simple syrup. Cook the soaked beets in the simple syrup, adding double the water back into the pot and reducing to a syrup three times. Dry the cooked beets on dehydrator rack for 3 hours at 55°F. Reserve.
For the Bavarian Malt:
Mix the black malt with the water to dissolve thoroughly. Add the sugar and cook to the hard crack stage. Add the baking soda immediately. Pour the mixture onto a lined sheet tray and allow it to harden before breaking it into the texture of small powder.
For the Brown Butter Sable:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine all the dry ingredients in a food processor and gently cut in the cold butter. Once the butter has been well incorporated, spread the mixture on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, roughly 25 minutes. Cool the mixture on a speed rack; once cooled, blend it back into the food processor with the warmed brown butter. Spoon the runny sable mixture into the shape of a disc onto small patty papers, roughly 4 inches in diameter; refrigerate to set.
For the Frozen “Curdled” Cream:
Whip the cream with the sugar until you reach soft peaks; using liquid nitrogen, freeze the whipped cream and break into small frozen “curds.” Reserve in the freezer.
To Assemble and Serve:
Plate a small spoonful of Bavarian Malt. Add 4 pieces of the Candied Beet Root, 1 segment of grapefruit, and 2 sprigs of fresh lemon balm. Add a small scoop of Grapefruit-Beet Sorbet into the middle of the beets and cover with the Brown Butter Sable. Using a torch, lightly melt the sable over the sorbet. Finish with the Frozen Curdled Cream.