Grilled, pickled and fresh strawberry salad with goat cheese, beets and cucumber pickles.
Monica Kisic Aguirre from Roots Radicals (@monicakisic @rootsradicals.berlin)
Ingredients
Lettuce
Fresh goat cheese
Dill
Tarragon
Beetroot
Strawberries
Roots Radicals Bread and Butter Pickles
Bread
60 ml salad oil
50 ml apple vinegar
20 ml water
20 g sugar
Salt
Freshly grounded pepper
Preparation
Pickled strawberries and beets
Take 1/3 of the strawberries and dice them. Place in a small bowl.
Peel the beetroot and slice with a mandolin, as thin as you can. Place in a small bowl.
For the brine: Mix apple vinegar with water, sugar and one tsp. tarragon (with the stalk) in a saucepan and bring to the boil. When it starts boiling, let it cook for 1 minute. Then pour evenly on both strawberries and beets so they are both covered with the brine.
Fried strawberries
Take another 1/3 of the strawberries and cut them in halves. Heat one tbsp. olive oil in a pan until it is very hot. Add the strawberries, fry on one side and turn around. Make sure they really do caramelise, they might even ‘burn’ a little. This will provide a delicious contrast to the pickled and fresh strawberries. Add black pepper to taste.
Advice: If you prepare this dish for a barbecue, you might grill the strawberries on a flame, to add a smoky flavour.
Strawberry salad with goat cheese
Wash and dry the lettuce. Create a vinaigrette by mixing balsamic vinegar, some salad oil and salt. Cut the remaining strawberries in slices.
Now assemble on a plate: First, spread the goat cheese. Then place the sliced strawberries atop. Add the pickled beets and diced strawberries and some of the bread and butter pickles. Make sure they are all well dispersed. Now add the fried strawberries. For some additional green on the plate: Separate tarragon and dill from the stalk and chop. Add the tarragon to the strawberries and the dill to the beets.
Advice: You might add the remaining strawberry tips, beetroot peels and herb stalks to your drinking water to infuse it with flavour. Alternatively, boil them for an afternoon tea.
