I love weekends, especially when I have enough time to explore new recipes and cook. That is my perfect weekend, and even more perfect when my experiments turn out delicious.

Strangely beets remind me of my childhood. The first time I had beets was in elementary school, I must have been 6 or 7 years old. I used to have lunch “à la cantine”  (the school canteen where kinds have lunch?) since my mom could not come pick me up for lunch. They were cut in small cubes and served with a vinaigrette. Most kids didn’t eat them, but for some reason, I like them and always asked for a second serving. I have been eating beets since then. Some of my friends in their adult life ended up hating everything they ate “à la cantine” and were traumatized by that food.

A discussion with my mom this morning led to this recipe. She was mentioning a delicious zucchini carpaccio she ate at some friend’s house, topped with parmesan and basil, that she loved. It made me realize that I don’t make vegetable carpaccio very often. Usually when talking about carpaccio, it’s mainly referring to beef or salmon, topped with olive oil, lemon, etc…

I had a bunch of beets in the refrigerator, that I kept postponing to cook and I wanted to explore more recipes using my raspberry vinegar too. What more perfect than this!

Another alternative to Greek yogurt sauce is to shave some pecorino on top of the beets. It’s all up to your inspiration.

I loved this combination of beets, raspberry vinegar, goat yogurt and herbs, especially when you add extra dressing and extra goat yogurt, when everything mixes up; then all different nuances of colors, flavors and textures dance in your plate and palate.

Ingredients for 2-3

• 2 golden or red beets, peeled and finely sliced using a mandoline
• pumpkin seeds, roasted

For the raspberry dressing

• 6 raspberries, crushed with a fork
• 2 tbs raspberry vinegar
• 1 tsp chives, chopped
• 3 tbs olive oil
• salt

For the yogurt sauce

• 1 plain goat Greek yogurt
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbs fresh mint, finely chopped
• zest of 1/2 meyer lemon
• juice of 1/2 meyer lemon

Preparation

In one container, mix raspberry dressing  ingredients together. Mix yogurt sauce ingredients together.

In a plate, lay out beet slices nicely. Drizzle some raspberry dressing on top of the beets. Add one tbs of yogurt sauce. Decorate with pumpkin seeds.

Serve with more yogurt sauce and dressing on the side.