Baked beets and shallots with almond milk bread sauce
Author: Simon Hicks, The Lord Crewe Arms
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 large red beetroots
- 4 large yellow beetroots
- salt
- 8 banana shallots
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
- For the bread sauce
- 800ml almond milk
- 80g flaked almonds, toasted + garnish
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 black peppercorns
- 8 cloves
- 1 star anise
- 250g breadcrumbs
- For the sherry vinegar reduction
- 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
Method
- Drizzle 1 tbsp oil over the beetroots and season with salt.
- Pierce all over with a fork and wrap each individually in tin foil.
- Bake at 180C/Gas 4 until soft (about 2 hours).
- Allow to cool slightly.
- Cut off the top and bottom and peel off the skin.
- Cut into chunks.
- Cut the shallots in half lengthways.
- Heat 2tbsp oil in a large ovenproof frying pan.
- Place the shallots in the pan, cut side down.
- When they start to colour, put them in the oven at 180C/Gas 4 for 5 mins.
- Turn them over and put them back in the oven for another 5 mins.
- Drizzle with sherry vinegar and allow to cool in the pan.
- Peel off the outer skin.
- For the bread sauce, bring the almond milk to the boil.
- Add all the other ingredients except the breadcrumbs, and allow to infuse for 30 mins.
- Pass through a fine sieve.
- Add the breadcrumbs, season with salt and warm through until thickened.
- For the reduction, heat the vinegar and sugar in a pan until the sugar has dissolved and the liquid has started to thicken.
- To serve, divide the bread sauce between four bowls.
- Mound beetroots and shallots on top.
- Drizzle with some vinegar reduction and top with toasted almond flakes.
