Sweet, Salty, Sour — this trio dances graceful pirouettes on our tongues.

All three are featured in today’s dish . . .

• Sweetie Ratatouille (enhanced with the natural sweetness of beetroot and sweet potato)
• Three-way Beetroot (Boiled Cubes, Dehydrated Leaflets, and Crumbled Crisps) & Feta Salad
• Red Wine Beetroot Vinaigrette

The common product?

Beetroot!

DISH NAME (Main Dish)

Sweetie Ratatouille and Three-way Beetroot & Feta Salad, topped with a Red Wine Beetroot Vinaigrette

The natural sweetness of beetroot is a great way to take flavour depth to new heights without adding too much sugar. The touches of tangy red wine vinegar and salty feta cheese, and the stoic presence of a bunch of neutral veggies all work together for a well-rounded vegetarian main.

Component #1: Sweetie Ratatouille

I’ve always wanted to make ratatouille after watching the Disney movie namesake. Today, I finally got to! This one is made of hand-sliced eggplant, zucchini, yellow carrots, sweet potato, and beetroot — all slowly stewed together on a pureed tomato-veggie base (using the leftover and crudely-sliced bits…hey, practice makes perfect!!)

The natural sweetness of beetroot and sweet potato and the hint of apple sauce coming through on the dressing complements the otherwise savoury ‘farmer’s stew’ very well.

Ingredients Used in Sweetie Ratatouille

Beetroot, peeled and thinly sliced
Sweet Potato, peeled and thinly sliced
Eggplant, very thinly sliced
Zucchini, thinly sliced
Yellow Carrot, thinly sliced at an angle
Orange Carrot, thinly sliced at an angle
Unsalted Butter
Organic Tomato Chunks
Red Onion, diced
Garlic Cloves, minced
Dried Thyme Leaves
Dried Rosemary Powder
Dried Oregano Leaves
Dried Red Pepper Flakes
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Apple Sauce
Fresh Basil Leaves, chopped
Sea Salt
Black Pepper, freshly ground

How to Make the Sweetie Ratatouille

Prepare (thinly slice) all the veggies for the ratatouille.

Stir-fry onions in salt, pepper, and butter till fragrant (5 min). Add tomato chunks, minced garlic, dried herbs and spices, and all the unused odd and end pieces of vegetables into the pot. Simmer on medium heat for 5-10 min. Use a stick blender to puree all the contents.

Spread a thin layer of pureed sauce onto bottom of dish/ramekin. Neatly layer the veggie slices in colourful rows on top of the sauce.

Bake at 120°C for 60 min.

In the meantime, mix olive oil with apple sauce, salt, and fresh basil.

Drizzle this dressing over the ratatouille before serving.

Component #2: Three-way Beetroot & Feta Salad

Beetroot is the star of this salad. There’s boiled beetroot cubes, dehydrated beetroot leaflets, and crumbled crisped beetroot. Its savoury soulmate is the rich and crumbly feta cheese. These two lovers are drizzled with Red Wine Beetroot Vinaigrette (Component #3) and served on a bed of assorted salad leaves

Ingredients Used in Three-way Beetroot & Feta Salad

Walnuts, halved
Beetroot, boiled and sliced into thin + very thin wedges
Beetroots, boiled and cut into small cubes
Feta Cheese, cut into small triangles
Assorted Salad leaves (Rucola, Green Romaine, Spinach, Red Batavia, and Red Novita)
Feld Salad leaves

How to Make the Three-way Beetroot & Feta Salad

Prep salad leaves and other ingredients.

Pop thin beetroot slices and walnut halves & wholes in the oven at 120°C. The goal is to toast the walnuts, dehydrate the thick beetroot slices, and crisp the thin beetroot slices (30 min).

Component #3: Red Wine Beetroot Vinaigrette

I’ve made a version of this before. However, today’s one was adjusted to my taste, with a little less red wine vinegar and a little more maple syrup. Of course, loads of beetroot pieces were used to impart its beautiful flavour and colour into the vinaigrette.

Ingredients Used in Red Wine Beetroot Vinaigrette

Red Wine Vinegar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Maple syrup
Fig Mustard
Garlic Clove, pressed
Black Pepper, freshly ground
Sea Salt
Beetroot, those odd-shaped pieces

How to Make the Red Wine Beetroot Vinaigrette

Mix all ingredients except beetroot to form a vinaigrette. Add beetroot slices and chill at least 4 hours to allow them to impart their essence into the vinaigrette.

Design the Plate

Gather all the components around the plate before beginning.

Ready?! Steady!!! Go!

Start by arranging the assorted lettuce leaves with all the salad toppings in a semi circle on the plate. Drizzle a little Red Wine Vinaigrette in a big circle.

Add a strip of the ratatouille and top with another curved portion. Try to form a rose like structure (I used a feta cheese triangle and a walnut half to support this centrepiece). Drizzle a little of the basil dressing from the ratatouille in a smaller circle. Add any more finishing touches wherever you like, using the beet cubes, walnut halves and feta cheese triangles. Drizzle and drip the vinaigrette and scatter the crumbled beetroot crisps over the salad leaves.

Done!

It was so beautiful outdoors. I just had to take advantage of the shining sun by doing a mini outdoor photoshoot next to our veggie patch.

And one on the patio...

If you enjoy stretching your culinary imagination, do join me in the 'Steemit Iron Chef Contest' too! Kind, community-minded @progressivechef, hailing from Mauritius, organises this contest. He has very much planned in his vision for SIC. Check it out 'in his latest post'