Beetroot Carpaccio with Cashew Cream
This is the salad I bring to dinner parties when I want to look like I tried harder than I did. The trick is roasting the beets ahead of time — wrap them in foil and let the oven do the work — then slicing them impossibly thin and fanning them out on a platter. A drizzle of tangy cashew cream (a vegan stand-in for ricotta salata), a scatter of toasted walnuts, and a handful of fresh herbs turn it into something that looks like a painting. It tastes like a beet's best self: earthy, sweet, and bright all at once.
Ingredients
- ☐ Mixed beets — 1 lb, red and golden if possible
- ☐ Raw cashews — 1/2 cup, soaked
- ☐ Lemon — 1, juiced
- ☐ Garlic — 1 small clove
- ☐ Nutritional yeast — 1 tablespoon
- ☐ Arugula — 2 cups, baby
- ☐ Toasted walnuts — 1/4 cup, chopped
- ☐ Fresh dill — 1 tablespoon, chopped
- ☐ Fresh mint — 1 tablespoon, chopped
- ☐ Olive oil — 3 tablespoons
- ☐ Apple cider vinegar — 1 tablespoon
- ☐ Sea salt and black pepper
Nutrition Facts
Per serving · 4 servings total
Instructions
Tap a step to mark it complete as you cook.
Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Trim the beets, leaving 1 inch of stem. Wrap each beet individually in foil and roast for 45-55 minutes, until easily pierced with a knife. Let cool completely.
While the beets roast, cover the cashews with boiling water and let soak for 20 minutes. Drain.
Make the cashew cream: blend the soaked cashews, lemon juice, garlic, nutritional yeast, 2 tablespoons of water, and a pinch of salt in a high-speed blender until completely smooth and creamy. Add more water by the teaspoon if needed. The texture should be like a thick sour cream.
Once cool, peel the beets by rubbing the skins off with your fingers (wear gloves if using red beets to avoid stained hands). Slice as thinly as possible using a mandoline or a very sharp knife.
Arrange the beet slices in a single overlapping layer on a large serving platter. Whisk together the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and black pepper, and drizzle half over the beets. Let sit for 10 minutes to absorb.
Scatter arugula over the beets. Dollop spoonfuls of cashew cream across the top, then scatter with walnuts, dill, and mint. Finish with the remaining dressing and a final crack of black pepper. Serve at room temperature.
Recipe notes
The cashew cream can be made up to 4 days ahead and stored in the fridge. Roasted beets will keep for 5 days.
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