This colourful roasted beetroot Caprese salad is a twist of the classic Italian Caprese Salad recipe that is usually prepared with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella. This simple, yet divine dish can be served chilled or while the beet is still warm. Enjoy this starter with a glass of your favorite full-bodied red wine.
It’s all about the beet!
Beets are one of those vegetables most people either love or hate for their distinctive earthy taste. These super-roots are known as a great source of iron, manganese and potassium. Beetroots can help you lower your blood pressure, and increase blood flow. Some studies even claim that beets and especially beetroot juice can improve your athletic performance. If you’re still not convinced, you should give them a try and roast the beets to bring out their sweetness and remove a lot of the earthy taste.
And this is exactly what we did for this Autumn version of the classic Italian Caprese salad. For a very quick version of this beetroot Caprese salad you can use precooked roots, limiting the preparation time to less than 10 minutes. All it takes is beet, sliced thinly, toasted in a pan without using additional oil. Spread the beet over a plate, with the discs slightly overlapping, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place a whole mozzarella in the middle of the plate and add some fresh tomatoes and basil for the final touch.
Burnt Beetroot Caprese Salad
Print recipeIngredients
- 4 big precooked beetroots
- 1-2 mozzarella (optional: mozzarella di buffala)
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
- fresh basil and tomatoes for garnish
Instructions
Use a very sharp knife to thinly slice the precooked beets. Preheat a pan – no need to add additional oil to toast the beetroot slices. Toast each beetroot slice for approximately 30 seconds on each side and set aside to cool. Spread beetroot over a plate, with the discs slightly overlapping. Place a whole mozzarella (di bufala) in the middle of the plate, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper and garnish with some fresh basil and tomatoes for some extra color on the plate. Enjoy this autumn variation of a classic Caprese with some toasted bread bread or pita.
Notes
If you have more time for the preparation, you can also use fresh beet, thinly slice it, and bake it in the oven at 180 degrees Celcius for about 45 minutes or until crispy. If you want the beets to be extra soft, you can roasted them whole, wrapped in foil to insulate and protect their texture, let them cool, and then thinly slice them, add mozzarella and basil and sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper.