A very nice autumn recipe from De Groene Garde cookbook using beetroot instead of meat and pecorino instead of parmazan cheese. Pecorino is a local cheese, which means less transport and therefore less CO2 emission. You can buy it at your local cheesemonger or on the (farmers)market. Just as the beets! Rocket salad can be grown on your balcony; it requires little care and the more you cut the more it grows! Inexpensive and very easy.

400g beets
50g walnuts
125g rocket salad
50g alfalfa
200g grated pecorino sardo or hard goat cheese
1 tablespoon of capers
5  sprigs of thyme
dressing:
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon of mustard
5 tablespoons of extra vierge olive oil
1 tablespoon of dried oregano
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper

Cook the beets (without cutting them) for about 20 to 25 minutes in a pan with water and a pinch of salt. Let them cool down and remove the skin. Meanwhile mix the ingredients for the dressing in a little bowl. Put four whole walnuts to the side and chop up the rest of the walnuts. Cut the beets into very thin slices using a slicing machine or a very shard knife. Put the slices onto four plates. Put the rocket salad on top and garnish with a bit of alfalfa in the middle. Scatter the grated cheese over, along with the copped walnuts, the capers and the thyme. Finally drizzle over the dressing. To dress up the plate add a small slice of cheese and a walnut in the middle of the carpaccio on every plate.

Recipe from De Groene Garde cookbook. Read an interview with one of the initiators right here and win the cookbook via our win page!

Photography: Hans Hogervorst
Foodstyling: Sander de Ponti
Styling: Janwillem van Riel