This a deliciously interesting purée. It has a unique flavor due to the earthiness of the beets and the sweetness of the papaya. This makes it great to pair with most foods: seafood, chicken, duck, etc. I’ve even paired this with gnocchi. The color on the purée is also incredible and it stands out on any plate.
Ingredients
- 3 small yellow beets minced
- 1/4 of a papaya chopped
- 1 shallot minced
- 1 garlic cloves minced
- 2 sage leaves
- 6 – 8 fresh oregano leaves
- 1 tbsp of lemon juice
- 1 tbsps of butter (you may use vegetable oil instead)
- 1 cup of chicken/vegetable stock
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Bring a pot to medium-high heat. When it reaches temperature add the butter and melt. Add the minced shallot and garlic onto the pot and cook until the shallots are tender, about 2-3 minutes. Constantly stir to avoid the shallots and garlic from burning.
Add the minced beets to the pot and cook them for about 5 minutes while constantly stirring to make sure not to brown them– We want the beets to stay yellow to maintain that beautiful bright color in the purée.
Add enough stock to cover the beets just slightly. You may not use all the stock and that’s OK. We can always add more later as the stock reduces. Add the herbs [sage and oregano] into the pot and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Important note: Beets take a long time to cook, papaya doesn’t. So we cook down the beets first and then add the papaya when the beets are almost done. This way they are both done at the same time and the papaya does not become overcooked while the beets catch up.
Add the papaya into the pot and make sure to add more stock if needed. We want the papaya and beets to be submerged in the stock. Bring the stock back to a simmer and add the lemon juice to balance the flavors. Add salt and pepper to taste and cook the papaya for 5-7 minutes.
Now, let’s purée the mix!
Strain the stock out of the pot and save it. Place the contents of the pot in a blender and add some of the stock to it. Add about half of the stock and begin blending. While everything blends in together add more stock as needed to achieve desired consistency. Taste and salt one more time if needed and you are done.
Transfer the purée from the blender to another container to store it. I typically like to save it in plastic squeeze bottles because it makes it super easy to use later, especially for plating.
Check out some of the ways I have used this puree to get some ideas.
