of the month... Beetroot and radish toast

AN EXTRAORDINARY COMPOSITION FROM ONE OF PORTUGAL ’ S STANDOUT CULINARY TALENTS – PEDRO DE SOUSA, EXECUTIVE CHEF OF RESTAURANT O JARDIM IN LISBON. THIS PLATE OF LAYERED TASTES AND TEXTURES GIVES A WHOLE NEW MEANING TO THE TERM OPEN SANDWICH. IT ’ S WORTH EVERY SECOND OF THE MAKING

Ingredients

 500g beets

 200g soft cheese – fresh mozarella, burrata, stracciatella or requeijão, as long as it is a soft cheese

 500g pão de sementes

 5g spicy horseradish

 20g capers

 salt to taste

 1kg of white sugar

FOR THE LACTO-FERMENTED RADISH (and there’ll be plenty left over to use in other dishes)

 10g salt

 500g radishes, washed and cut in half Toss the radishes in the salt and place in an airtight and sterilized container. Store at room temperature for four to five days, but open daily to release any gas present.

Method

1 Roast the beets wrapped in aluminum in the oven for about 45 minutes at 180ºC. Then peel and reserve the skins.

2 Slice the beets to a thickness of 0.5cm.

3 Place the beets in a sugar syrup of 1kg of sugar with 1L of water, flavoured with black peppercorns, coriander seeds, liquorice and pink pepper.

4 Bake the beet skins in the oven at 100ºC for 20–30 minutes to let them dry out. When cool, pulverise them to a powder in a blender or by hand in a pestle and mortar.

5 Meanwhile, fry the capers in hot oil for 3–4 minutes, then place on a paper towel to remove excess oil.

6 To serve, place a slice of bread on each plate, top with the soft cheese, then the capers, beetroot slices and fermented radishes. Sprinkle with the beet powder and scatter with oxalis leaves (wood sorrell) if you have.