“The beet is the most intense of vegetables,” wrote novelist Tom Robbins. Striking in colour, earthy in flavour and packed with nutrients, beets have long been a favourite ingredient for chefs looking to create dishes that are as beautiful as they are delicious. This elegant beet tartare recipe from Rosewood Winery & Meadery in Ontario’s Niagara region celebrates the vegetable at its best, pairing roasted beets with chèvre, capers, radish and endive for a fresh, vibrant appetizer.
Created by estate chef Wesley Grendon, the dish reflects Rosewood’s commitment to local ingredients and seasonal cooking. Beyond its award-winning wines and meads, the winery is also home to an apiary producing honey and sprawling lavender fields that help define the property’s agricultural character. The result is a vegetarian tartare that feels refined yet approachable, balancing sweet, tangy and savoury flavours in every bite.
Beet Tartare with Chèvre, Radish and Endive
Ingredients
- 1 Egg white beaten
- 2 cups Kosher salt
- 3 Beets medium
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp Chèvre
- 3 tbsp Capers plus juice
- 1 Lemon zested
- 1 Radish sliced thin
- 1 Belgium endive
- ½ handful Roquette
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Beat egg white and mix well with kosher salt.
- Place beets in a baking pan and cover in moist salt mixture, bake 1 hour.
- Remove salt crust and let cool (you can omit steps 1-4 and use boiled beets).
- Grate beets into a mixing bowl using a box grater.
- Mix beets with, Dijon, capers, lemon zest & caper juice to taste
- Using a ring mold, spoon 1 cup of beets onto a plate.
- Add garnish of radish, chèvre and roquette.
- Wrap endive around the outside of the ring mold.
- Carefully remove ring mold, ensuring the endive stays wrapped around the beet tartare.
Notes
More Beet Recipes
Fire-Roasted Beet and Plum Salad
Francis Mallmann's simple recipe for a beet, plum and ricotta salad is so flavourful on its own that no salad dressing is needed.
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Rainbow Beet Salad With Lemony Goat Cheese
Paper-thin beets, shaved rainbow carrots and asparagus are layered over lemony goat cheese and finished with a white wine Dijon vinaigrette.
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Charcoal-Roasted Beets With Yogurt Dressing
Roasting beets concentrates their sugars while preserving their earthy root-vegetable flavour, and outdoor cooks will love cooking them over a fire—the smokiness just adds to that earthiness. When buying them, look for ones with the leaves still attached, as they are fresher and sweeter than those whose greens (which are also tasty, whether raw or cooked) have been trimmed off. The sweet, smoky flavour of these beets paired with the tanginess of the yogurt makes for a perfect appetizer or side dish to accompany any lunch or dinner.
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