Our local coop was selling purple daikon the other day, and I couldn’t resist trying something new: A semi-raw food dish inspired by the classic Italian mozzarella plate (spiraling slices of white cheese and red tomatoes, sprinkled with fresh basil leaves and sweet balsamic vinaigrette – oh, the days of dairy!), which I always associate with spring and summer.
So here’s the fall and winter version!
Daikon is a wonderful food to be enjoyed raw. It’s delicate radish taste and succulent crunch are as much a discovery as the purple daikon root’s colors – a star at the center of every slice radiates outwards to a ring of deeper purple, and Ilian spent quite some time holding slices up to the light. It’s a beautiful plant!
The red beet slices got blanched in this recipe to make chewing easier, but please try them raw, too!
Thyme fits the root veggies better than basil, and a splash of acv lightens up your palate, plus adds some more goodness to your gut.
Go eat your veggies and enjoy winter while it lasts đ
Red Beet and Purple Daikon Platter
Ingredients
- 3 medium red beets
- 1 medium purple daikon
- a few twigs fresh thyme
- 1 TBsp olive oil
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar (acv)
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar glaze (optional, for decoration)
Directions
- Scrub and peel the beets and daikon, wash the thyme and strip leaves off the stems.
- Slice the roots thinly, preferably with a mandoline slicer.
- Place beet slices in steam basket. Blanch them by immersing in boiling water for 1 minute. Transfer to cold water, let sit in cold water for 2 minutes, lift out and let dry in steam basket.
- Arrange beet and daikon slices alternatingly on plate. Drizzle with oil-acv mix, sprinkle with fresh thyme and balsamic glaze if you have it. Enjoy the crunch!
