Ask me any day of the week to go out to dinner and automatically my answer will be an enthusiastic yes! Especially living in New York City, it has me tempted with thousands of incredibly delicious options at my fingertips. However, eating out every night is not entirely realistic especially when my husband prefers to eat a nice meal at home. So I called on my dear friend and colleague, Ro Howe, caterer extraordinaire, to give us some special recipes to try at home. Whether you’re planning a dinner party or just want to impress your friends with an impromptu cheese and wine cocktail hour, Ro will have you looking like a pro!
RAS AL HANOUT-ROASTED BEETS WITH ORANGE BLOSSOM-THYME SORBET
Here is a cool, elegant and CeciStylish way to start a Moroccan-influenced meal.
Sorbet’s provenance is firmly rooted in Arab culture as ‘serbat’ which was highly sweetened water flavoured with rosewater or, as here, with orange blossom water, iced like a granita and served as we would serve a cocktail. Ras al hanout is a spice traditionally used in couscous and tagines. Many guard their ras al hanout recipes closely. You can have fun and develop your own recipe as I have done here.
YIELD: Twelve appetiser portions
PREP TIME: 2 hours
EQUIPMENT: Medium oven proof dish, measuring spoons, microplane, tinfoil, vegetable peeler, small plastic squeeze bottle, latex gloves, plain round cookie cutter set, 2 quart sauce pan, fine mesh strainer, ice cream machine, ice cream scoop.
INGREDIENTS:
For the beets
4 large red beets, washed but not peeled
¼ cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
2 cinnamon sticks
4 crushed cardamom pods
1 ½ teaspoons crushed fennel seeds
2 teaspoons crushed coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 inch sliced fresh ginger
2 crushed allspice berries
2 cloves
4 scrapes of nutmeg, using microplane
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns
OR
2 tablespoons ras al hanout
Kosher salt & pepper to taste
For the sorbet
3 orange zest strips using vegetable peeler without pith
3 lemon zest strips without pith
20 bruised lemon thyme or thyme sprigs
6 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup sugar
3 cups dry white wine
1 tablespoon orange blossom water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 twists freshly ground black pepper
For the garnish
Half cup carefully washed and dried beet sprigs
Half cup thyme sprigs
Quarter cup extra virgin olive oil in a squeeze bottle
Freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt to taste
DIRECTIONS:
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
Place washed beets in medium sized oven proof dish. Sprinkle liberally with extra virgin olive oil and the combined spices. Mix well together. Cover tightly with tin foil. Roast in oven for 1 ¼ hours.
Test each beet with wooden skewer for doneness. They should be tender but not soft. If necessary replace in the oven and test every ten minutes, removing each beet as it reaches the right texture. Leave them till cool enough to handle. Do not allow them to become cold or peeling will be difficult.
Wearing latex gloves if desired, gently remove the beet skins. Cool and slice each beet horizontally in ¼” slices. You should have about 16 – 20 slices. For precision, cut out the largest and best slices with a cookie cutter so they are uniform. (Reserve the trimmings for use in a salad with goat cheese and walnuts with a sprightly lemon vinaigrette)
For the sorbet combine the ingredients and place in a medium sauce pan. Heat until almost boiling and turn off heat. Cover and steep overnight or for four hours minimum. Strain through fine mesh conical strainer and chill. When completely cold refrigerate until cold. Churn in an ice cream maker. Pack, cover and freeze.
If you don’t have an ice cream maker it is simple to turn it into a granita! Chill the strained syrup and pour it into a wide container and place it in the freezer. When it starts to freeze drag the tines of a fork through it to mush it up. Repeat this every 20 minutes until you have sparkling shards and flakes of granita.
For service
Place beet slice in the centre of the plate. Brush with extra virgin olive oil, Sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Scoop sorbet onto each beet slice. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle beet and thyme sprigs around. Serve immediately.
