Читать книгу Simple Beginnings: Beading - Aiden Byrne - Страница 11

SERVES 4

2 kg fresh beetroot

2 large golden beetroot

1 vanilla pod

50 ml olive oil

300 ml fresh apple juice

500 ml beetroot juice

125 ml sherry vinegar

juice of 2 lemons

2 whole avocados

100 g caster sugar, plus extra for seasoning

juice and rind of 2 limes

juice of 1 lemon

2 leaves gelatine, softened

200 ml Belvedere vodka

salt

fresh coriander, to garnish

WRAP HALF THE BEETROOT and the golden beetroot in foil, place on a tray lined with rock salt and cooked in a preheated oven at 160°C/ 310°F/gas 2½ for 1–1½ hours. Leave them to sweat in the foil for 10 minutes – this will make them easier to peel. Peel the golden beetroot and use a small cutter (1.5 cm in diameter) to cut four pieces of beetroot. Peel the other cooked beetroot, cut four more pieces and chop the rest up into small pieces. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod and mix with the olive oil. Store the beetroot fondants in this oil.

PEEL THE REMAINING raw beetroot, chop the flesh into small pieces and place them in a blender with the cooked beetroot, the apple juice and the beetroot juice. Blend until smooth, then pass the liquid through a fine sieve by tapping the sieve; don’t try to push the pulp through the sieve, because you only want the juice. Put the liquid in a bowl over a bowl of iced water.

SEASON THE SOUP WITH SALT, gradually adding more and more until it tastes right. Then add the sherry vinegar, which will almost accentuate the salt. Then add some sugar, which should balance both the flavours. Pass again through a fine sieve and refrigerate. You will probably need to test the seasoning again once the gazpacho is fully chilled.

PEEL THE AVOCADOS and use the same cutter to cut four shapes out. Coat in lemon juice and set aside. Add the sugar to 100 ml water and bring to a boil. Blend the rest of the avocado in the blender and add the syrup. Pass through a fine sieve and add the lime juice and rind and the lemon juice. Transfer to an ice cream machine and churn until frozen.

HEAT A COUPLE of tablespoons of water in a small saucepan, add the gelatine and a small amount of the vodka and leave the gelatine to dissolve slowly. Remove the pan from the heat and add the remaining vodka. Pass the jelly through a fine sieve into a small container and set in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. It will go cloudy; do not worry.

TO SERVE, recheck the seasoning of the soup and pour it into four chilled bowls. Add the fondants, spoon in some vodka jelly and avocado sorbet and garnish with a few coriander leaves.

This is a perfect winter soup that I think is a lot easier to make than the classic French onion soup. I like to serve it with veal shin ravioli or a crisp crouton spread with some chicken liver and foie gras parfait. Remember: the younger the onions, the sweeter the soup.