Gourmet Beetroot Carpaccio, Pickled Radish and Infused Kombu

How to Make Pickled Beetroot:

• Peel the beets and slice into your preferred shape as thin as you can. If you are using a mandolin, choose the thinnest setting.
• Soak the beets in a bowl in plenty of water for 2 minutes.
• Change the water and repeat. Repeat, this process 10 times.
• Once you are done, mix all the remaining ingredients together.
• Add in the beetroot and leave to pickle overnight. (You can do it in a siphon as well with one charge.)
• When the beets are pickled, they should be sweet, crispy, and a little acidic. Quickly rinse them and pat them dry. You will notice the beets don’t release as much color now and are a very vivid color.

How to Make Pickled Radish:

• Cut your radishes thin julienne. In a basin, mix the radishes, the vinegar, salt and sugar and massage well.
• In a small saucepan, put the water, peppercorns, and bay leaf and allow to reduce to half. Cool it down using an ice bath and strain out the spices.
• Put it into a basin with the radishes and leave to pickle overnight. Don’t rinse prior to service.

How to Make the Split Sauce:

a) Kefir Base:

• In a sterilized glass jar, put the milk and the kefir grains.
• Don’t use an implement to mix the ingredients. Instead, shake the jar well. Cover the top with cling film and punch in a small hole with the tip of a knife.
• Leave it in a warm, airy corner to ferment for 24-48 hours.
• Wrap the jar with a towel to keep out the light.
• DO NOT place it in a cabinet and keep it away from any odors. As it ferments, the milk will start to thicken.
• Keep checking it after 24 hours to see how it is progressing and just strain it when you are happy with the taste.
• The grains can be used again infinitely as they will give “birth” to new grains. Meanwhile, when your kefir is ready, keep it at room temp.

b) Infusing with Kombu:

• Immerse the kombu sheets in water for 5 seconds then add them to the kefir.
• Seal the jar and leave it in the chiller for 4 hours to infuse.

c) Smoked Coriander Oil:

• Wash and dry the coriander.
• Remove the stems and keep the leaves only (the stems make a good stock).
• Place the leaves in some boiling water and blanche for 20 seconds.
• Cool them down in an ice bath and place them in a blender along with the oils.
• Blend at the highest speed until the oil smokes and turns very green.
• Using a sieve with some kitchen paper on top, strain the oil into a bowl. If you can, do this in the chiller so your oil doesn’t lose its color.
• Once the oil is done, using a smoking gun and a bell, fire up the coriander seeds and smoke the oil. Shake, smoke, shake again until the oil tastes very smoked.
• Seal it in a small bottle.
• If you don’t have a smoking gun, you can use your bbq or a pot. You just need to set the seeds on fire, place them next to the oil, and use a lid to trap the smoke in.

Making the Final Sauce:

• Place the ingredients into a small bowl and using a whisk, mix for 3-4 seconds.
• Before spooning it out, mix it again with the spoon.