In pink and white – Verrines of goat cheese and yogurt mousse with two herbed beet purées
En rose et blanc – Verrines de chèvre et yaourt, mousse aux deux betteraves
I made those a couple of weeks ago as an appetizer while I had friends over and I was not too happy about the results. I loved the colors since I used golden beets, but the flavor was somehow bland, so I wanted to make those again but with some adjustments because the beets and goat cheese is something I wanted to combine. The goat cheese mousse was not too flavorful probably because I added too much plain non fat yogurt. I figured this time I would enhance the flavors a little more with goat milk yogurt, and extra herbs but not too much because I wouldn’t want to lose the sweet natural flavor of the beets. You can serve them on toasted baguette or multi-grain bread as a light appetizer. It’s fresh, flavorful and tasty…and fun as well!
Ingredients for 4 verrines
For the goat cheese yogurt mousse
- 130 g goat cheese (the log kind)
- 1 gelatine sheet
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 3 tbs goat milk yogurt (if you can’t find it regular yogurt will work)
- 1/2 tsp honey
- salt
For the beet purée
- 4 red beets, medium size
- 4 white beets, medium size (or 4 golden beets)
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbs white balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 2 tbs plain yogurt
- 1 tbs parlsey, chopped
- 1tbs walnuts, chopped
- 1/2 tsp chili oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Cook the beets separately if cooked in a pot, or if steamed in a pressure cooker, they can bee cooked in the same recipient (the red beets will stain the white beets, and they will turn red). Cook for about 30 min. or until tender all the way through. let it cool.
In a recipient mix the goat cheese with the yogurt, mix well until the mixture becomes all smooth, add honey, olive oil, salt and pepper. Soak gelatine sheets in cold water for 5 min. heat cream and add soften gelatine sheets. Mix well and pour on top of cheese/yogurt mixture. At that point, distribute some of this mixture in small verrines or small transparent glasses. Place in refrigerator and let it thicken.
In a blender, mix red beets and white beets separately. In the red beets, add walnuts, vinegar, olive oil, parsley, garlic, yogurt, salt and pepper. Mix well to form a nice and smooth mixture. Place in a bowl and refrigerate for about 30 min.
In the white beets, add the same ingredients than in the red beets except walnuts and add chili oil instead. Mix well. Place in another bowl and refrigerate for about 30 min.
When beets are cold, and the goat cheese mousse has thickened. place one layer of the white beet mouse on top of cheese, then add red beet mousse for the last layer. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Decorate and serve with grilled baguette toasts or multi-grain bread slices.
Beautiful colors and such an original idea!