Coffee Smoked Baby Beets
With whipped ricotta, fennel, basil wafer, pistachio

Recipe by Emily Morgan
2025 Golden Chef of the Year

Made With Nestlé Professional Products

Ingredients
Coffee Smoked Beetroot
- 400g raw baby beetroot
- EVO (extra virgin olive oil)
- 3 tbsp ground BUONDI Steady State Coffee Beans
- 2 tsp salt
- 75ml water
Coffee Vinaigrette
- 1 tbsp brewed coffee
- ½ tbsp red wine vinegar
- ½ tsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp Dijon mustard
- 3 tbsp chives
Whipped Ricotta
- 150g ricotta
- 3 tbsp EVO (extra virgin olive oil)
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp salt
Basil Wafer
- 180g boiled red potato
- 25g basil
- 1 tsp salt
Basil/Parsley Oil
- 15g basil leaves (blanched)
- 15g parsley
- 150ml neutral oil
Fennel & Pistachio
- 30g pistachio kernels
- 1 baby fennel bulb
To Serve
- 50g roasted dressed beetroot
- Shaved fennel
- Whipped ricotta
- Basil oil
- 3 pieces glass chip
- Baby basil leaves
Method
Coffee Smoked Beetroot
1. Top and tail beetroot, add to a roasting dish with coffee grounds, water, oil, salt.
2. Cover with tinfoil tightly and roast for 35-40 mins (depending on size) at 180°C.
3. Once cooked through, leave to cool then peel skin back and rinse any coffee grounds off.
4. Smoke with coffee beans once cleaned, let sit in smoke for 5-10 mins to absorb flavour.
5. Once smoked and peeled, cut beetroot and weigh into 4 equal portions, store in a labelled container on top of the bench until ready to serve.
Coffee Vinaigrette
1. Brew coffee grounds with hot water and strain off.
2. Make up vinaigrette.
3. Dress beetroot.
Whipped Ricotta
1. Whip ricotta in a small blender till smooth, store in labelled container and piping bag with a round tip until ready to use.
Basil Wafer
1. Boil peeled medium potato in salted water.
2. Blanch basil for potato wafer and herb oil at same time, and then shock in ice, reserve potato water.
3. Blend potatoes, basil and potato water until the right consistency and bright green colour appears.
4. Spread thinly onto silpat and dehydrate at 90°C for 1 hr 30 mins. Fry last minute at 170°C - pat dry, season with salt.
Basil/Parsley Oil
1. For green oil: blend basil and parsley with neutral oil then hang through a coffee filter, store in a small bottle ready to serve.
Fennel & Pistachio
1. Blitz pistachios in small blender, keep in labelled container.
2. Shave fennel finely on a Japanese mandolin, toss through the same vinaigrette dressing.
3. Set aside in containers and divide into 4 equal portions, keep separate from beetroot so the colours don't blend.
To Serve
1. Toss beetroot with vinaigrette, let marinate and pat dry any excess liquid to prevent bleeding.
2. Season to taste (EVO, salt, cracked pepper).
3. Dress fennel in the same dressing, add chives last minute for colour.
4. Assemble plate - cold.