Colorful Root Carpaccio with Homemade Pesto Goat Cheese

Far far away in Montezuma, Costa Rica, there is a farm called Rancho Delicioso. It is a sustainable farm which grows bountiful vegetables, herbs and tropical fruits. Not only that, but it has chickens which produce fresh eggs and goats which are milked every morning. I had the pleasure of being able to volunteer and oversee the operations of this farm for a few weeks to see sustainability and organic farming in the works. The goat cheese in this recipe was made from this freshly made cheese, however, it can be easily replicated with organic plain goat cheese crumbles. How amazing to think that everything in this recipe was exclusively cultivated on the farm. All except the oil and vinegar, of course…

Serves 3
Ingredients

1 large red beet
1 large carrot
3/4 cup of crumbled plain goat cheese

Pesto
3/4 cup fresh basil leaves, loosely packed, save a few to garnish at end
5 large cloves of garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp sea salt

Vinaigrette
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp of lemon juice
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp raw honey
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

First, start with the pesto. Begin by blending the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt together in a blender until the garlic is relatively smooth. Depending on your blender you may need to add a little bit more oil so that the blades can break up the garlic. Then add in the basil leaves. Blend until smooth. When done, mix into the goat cheese, taking care not to break the pieces apart too much. Let it sit and marinate for at least twenty minutes.

Next, on a mandolin, or the largest side of a cheese grader, thinly slice the beet and carrot. Set aside in two separate bowls so that the beet does not stain the carrot. Whisk together the ingredients for the vinaigrette. Take half of the vinaigrette mixture and toss it with the beets.

Presentation:

Assort the beet and carrot nicely on a dish. Delicately add the goat cheese mixture and generously drizzle the remaining amount of the vinaigrette over the top. Garnish with some left over basil leaves. Bon appetite!