Coloured beet, ricotta, and goat's cheese mille-feuille with hazelnut vinaigrette

Mille-fueilles are thought to have originated in France with the famed gateaux dre mille-feuille, or 1000-layered cake. They have traditionally been associated with desserts. Here, they represent a beautiful vegetable salad of beets in different colours layered with a delicious cheese filling.

The first time I made this salad, I was amazed by its wonderful flavours. This salad is a spectacular showpiece on the table; most folks love the showy presentation. The earthy, sweet beets are balanced beautifully with the creamy cheese filling and scented with nutty hazelnut oil. The mix of baby greens adds a contrast of colour, crunchiness, and green flavours to the salad. This is a salad I could keep enjoying, but I make it for only those special occasions when I have a formal dinner.

This is one of those cookbooks that hides in my library; occasionally, I spot it and cook from it. Every recipe is spectacular, and the easy and healthy French cuisine is designed to amaze you. The recipes range from savory tarts to salads to desserts, each one is beautiful to present and delicious.

For more recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

For the mille-feuille:

1/4 cup hazelnuts, lightly toasted and chopped

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup fresh soft goat's cheese

2 scallions, white part only, finely chopped

2 teaspoons sherry vinegar, plus to taste

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons hazelnut oil

Sea salt, to taste

6 beets of different colours, red, purple, yellow, or candy cane chioggia beets

Mixed baby greens, spinach, arugula or lettuce

For the vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

6 tablespoons hazelnut oil

2 shallots, finely minced

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

Sea salt, to taste

Heat the oven to 375 F.

To cook the beets, wash the beets throughly. Wrap them separated by colour with a drizzle of olive oil and bake for 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of the beets. Please remove one of the packages and open it gently, taking care not to let the escaping steam burn you. Pierce the largest beet with a wooden skewer or a fork; the beets should be soft all the way through. However, you do not want them mushy. If needed, bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. Cool completely. The skins should slip off easily and keep as much of the thin roots as possible.

Alternatively, you can boil the beets, separated by colour, till cooked.

Cut the beets horizontally into three pieces: a base where the leaves attach, the middle and the tops with the roots. Trim the bases where the roots attach to form a stable base.

In a bowl, mix the ricotta, goat's cheese, scallions, sherry vinegar, hazelnut oil, salt (be careful, the cheeses are salty), and pepper. Taste and adjust salt and tartness with vinegar until you have a lovely-tasting mix.

Layer the beet bases on a dish. Divide the cheese spread into 12 portions and add one to each beet. Layer a beet of a different colour on the tip. Add the second scoop of cheese. Top with the beetroots. Cover with cling wrap and put in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

While the beets are chilling, mix all the ingredients for the dressing and set aside to allow the flavours to combine.

To serve, remove the beets from the fridge and add the baby greens around and between them. Drizzle the greens and assembled beets with the vinaigrette, and finish by sprinkling the hazelnuts over the salad. Serve immediately.