Beets
Beets are rich in a variety of vitamins and minerals. They are especially known as a source of vitamin C and iron. Furthermore, beets are extremely popular with athletes. Beets contain nitrate, which is converted in the body to nitric oxide. This dilates the veins and lowers blood pressure. In this way, you create good blood flow to the tissues and muscles, improving your physical performance.
Preparation of smoked beets in the smoker
For the preparation of smoked beets in the smoker, we use the Barbecook Oskar. Thanks to the Barbecook charcoal starter, the smoker is ready for use within 15 minutes. The smoker should have an average temperature of 100°C for smoking the beets.
Place 3 beets on the bottom grid of the Oskar, wrap a handful of pre-soaked smoking chips in aluminium foil, poke a few holes in it and place on your charcoal. Fill the bowl in the smoker for ¾ with water and close the smoker. Thanks to the adjustable air supply at the bottom and top of the Oskar, you maintain full control throughout the process. It’s important that the temperature in the smoker doesn’t exceed 100°C. You can easily monitor this via the built-in thermometer. Check regularly to see if there is still enough water in the dish and add some extra smoking chips every now and then. After two hours, the smoked beets in the smoker are ready and may be removed. Let them cool down. Then peel the beets and cut them into pieces.
Peel the remaining beets and slice them wafer-thin with a mandolin. Put the beets in a bowl with 2 parts oil and 1 part vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Leave the beets in this marinade for 30 minutes.
Wash the basil and blanch it briefly in boiling water. Fill a bowl with water and add the ice cubes and blanched basil. Let soak for a moment and swish dry. Mix the olive oil, basil and spinach. Season to taste. Top the oil with toasted pine nuts. Your homemade basil oil is ready!
Arrange the smoked and marinated beets randomly on the plate. Pull the mozzarella into pieces and place with the beets. Finish with the basil oil, apple capers, lemon zest, black pepper and additional pine nuts. Serve with some French bread.
