“I LOVE earthy, sweet dishes,” said Renee Touponce about this vibrant beet and strawberry salad. It’s the second of her Slow Food Fast contribution. It’s a delicious dish that’s honeyed and topped off with a bold drizzle of brown butter that is spiced. The result is creamy sweet, tart, and nutty, much like the savory ice cream sundae.
The clever method of the chef: Slice roasted beets into chunks of berries and quickly pickle them before mixing them with a portion of strawberries. “With red or pink beets,” Touponce explained, “the colors bleed a bit and look beautiful.” To drizzle the sauce, gently warm the butter until it turns brown and nutty, then mix in the aromatics and turn off the heat by letting the spices grow. “People don’t think of whole spices as adding texture, but I love their crunch,” Touponce explained. “This salad changes throughout the year at Oyster Club, but this combo is a favorite.”
Beet and Strawberry Salad With Spiced Brown Butter and Labneh
In this delicious and unexpected salad, the earthy beets and summer strawberries sit on the creamy swirl of yogurt.
Ingredients
- 12-small or four medium beets (about 1 pound)
- Two tablespoons olive oil and an additional tablespoon for drizzling
- Salt Kosher
- 1/2 cup Champagne vinegar
- 1 pint of strawberries washed and chopped
- 1 1/2 cup labneh
- Two tablespoons honey
- One lemon, squeezed and zested
- Half Cup (1 stick) of salted butter
- Two tablespoons of coriander seeds
- Three small dried red dried chiles
- Four sprigs of fresh Thyme
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh mint or chopped parsley roughly ripped
Directions
- Bake at 450 degrees. Place beets on a baking dish, then drizzle olive oil on top, two tablespoons of water, and salt. Cover with foil and cook until tender, between 25 and 35 minutes, depending on size.
- If the beets are still hot, you can use a kitchen towel to remove the skins and discard them. Cut beets into 1/2-inch pieces and put them in a bowl. Mix in vinegar, one tablespoon of olive oil, and salt according to your preference. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
- Cut strawberries into 1/2-inch wedges and put them in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, mix labneh with one tablespoon of honey, one tablespoon of olive oil, and salt. Check the taste and add additional honey if needed. The flavor should not be too tart but slightly sweet.
- In a small saucepan over a moderately low temperature. When it’s golden brown and smells nutty, switch off the heat for about five minutes. Instantly add coriander seeds as well as thyme and chiles. Take 10 minutes to simmer, then remove the thyme and chiles.
- Remove the beets from the vinegar and place them in the bowl with the strawberries. Sprinkle with salt and drizzles of olive oil. To serve, spread the labneh across four plates. Pour the strawberry-beet mix on top of each, and drizzle generously with the coriander-brown butter. Add freshly cut lemons and herbs.
