Recipe: Marinated Beets With Winter Citrus, Fried Onion Mousse & Crispy Wild Rice (2024)

Marinated Beets With Winter Citrus, Fried Onion Mousse & Crispy Wild Rice

Serves 4

This dish from Del Popolo chef de cuisine Jeffrey Hayden is a highly composed riff on a rustic citrus and shaved red onion salad. While fried onion mousse may sound fancy, Hayden assures that it’s really pretty easy as far as technique goes. Frying the flour coating, says Hayden, essentially creates “a crispy roux” that, along with the cream, thickens the mousse. Most of the components can be made 1 to 3 days ahead and then assembled prior to serving. You’ll need a deep-fry thermometer and piping bag (or zip-top bag).

Marinated beets

2 large or 4 medium golden beets, stems removed

2 large or 4 medium red beets, stems removed

Extra virgin olive oil, as needed

¼ cup Champagne vinegar

¼ cup red wine vinegar

Sea salt as needed

Fried onion mousse

4 to 6 cups (or more depending on size of pan) rice bran oil for deep frying

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and sliced into ½-inch rings

2 cups buttermilk

2 cups all-purpose flour

1½ cups heavy cream

Puffed rice

1 to 2 cups rice bran oil, for frying

1/3 cup wild rice

Fleur de sel, to finish

To finish

2 blood oranges, peel and pith removed, cut into ½-inch wheels

2 Cara Cara oranges, peel and pith removed, cut into ½-inch wheels

2 navel oranges, peel and pith removed, cut into ½-inch wheels

Fresh herbs, such as chervil, tarragon and basil to finish

Sumac, to finish

For the marinated beets: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Rub the beets with olive oil. Place the golden beets in a medium oven-proof baking dish, and add just enough water to cover the bottom of the dish by about 1 inch. Repeat in a second oven-proof baking dish with the red beets. Tightly cover both with aluminum foil and roast until tender, about 60 minutes.

Let the beets cool slightly, then remove the skins while they’re still warm. Cut into wedges. Place the golden beets in a medium bowl and toss with the Champagne vinegar. Place the red beets in another medium bowl and toss with the red wine vinegar. Let sit for 10 minutes, then drain separately. Return the beets to their original bowls and toss each with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt.

You can roast the beets a day ahead. Keep the skins on until you’re ready to cut them into wedges and marinate them. While Hayden uses red and golden beets to provide a contrast of colors for this dish, feel free to use any type of beet you like. The chef keeps different colored beets separate while cooking to prevent the colors from bleeding onto each other. He also likes to toss the beets in a similarly hued vinegar to keep the colors from getting muddy.

For the fried onion mousse: Heat the rice bran oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.

Separate the onion rings, then soak in the buttermilk for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the flour and 1 tablespoon sea salt. Working in batches, lightly dredge the onion rings, shaking off the excess flour. Fry in the oil — making sure not to overcrowd the pot — until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip halfway through cooking. Drain and place on the baking sheet. Season with a pinch or two of sea salt. Let cool slightly.

Pour 1 cup cream into a blender and add half of the onion rings. Start on low then slowly increase to high speed and puree. If needed, use a small ladle or plunger to assist in tamping down the mixture. Add the rest of the onion rings, along with the remaining ½ cup cream. If the mixture is too thick, add water 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach the consistency of loose hummus. Taste and adjust seasoning with more sea salt, if desired. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag or zip-top bag and chill completely, about 30 minutes.

“Everybody has some memory of eating fried onions — at like the boardwalk or a fair — and this texturally and visually completely different element on the plate sort of gives you those same food memories,” says Hayden. The mousse can be made 2 to 3 days ahead.

For the puffed rice: Meanwhile, place two high-sided saute pans next to each other on the stove. Place a fine mesh strainer in one pan. In the other pan, pour enough rice bran oil to fill by 2 inches, and heat to 475 to 480 degrees (just below its smoke point of 490 degrees). When you toss in a grain of wild rice, it should puff immediately. Pour the wild rice into the oil and immediately turn off the heat. As soon as the rice puffs, about 5 to 10 seconds, carefully strain the wild rice by pouring the hot oil into the strainer in other pan. Drain well, then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Season with sea salt.

Frying the wild rice in extremely hot oil will burst the outer shell and puff the interior, resulting in puffed, crispy rice that adds a pleasant, crunchy texture to the dish. “They’re like wild Rice Krispies,” says Hayden. The fried wild rice can be made a day ahead. Completely cool the rice, then wrap in a paper towel and store in an airtight container until ready to use.

To assemble: Pipe two generous dollops of the mousse slightly off-center on each of four large round plates. Use a spoon to make a little well in the middle of each dollop. Sprinkle a little fleur de sel on top of each dollop.

Arrange the beets next to the dollops of mousse and follow the natural curve of the plates, but leave some negative space to one side of each plate. (It should look like a large “C” on the plate.) Next, intersperse the citrus wheels. Season the beets and citrus with more fleur de sel.

Sprinkle the wild rice into distinct zones on the plate next to the citrus and beets. Tuck the fresh herbs in between the citrus and beets, tearing the leaves of the larger herbs.

“Don’t be afraid to herb the plate up,” says Hayden. You should get a little herb in every bite and some crunchy wild rice now and again.

Finally, sprinkle a little sumac on each citrus wheel and drizzle everything with a little olive oil.