White Chocolate, Blood Orange Beet Salad

(ed note:  I am making a version of this dish this coming Sunday, so I thought I'd re-post this blast from the past, circa 2006, for my your amusement.  I noticed in this post that I neglected to mention that I added a touch of truffle oil to the blood orange, white chocolate dressing.  It added a bit of earthiness that worked well with the beets.  I am not a big truffle oil person, but it works here.  I remember mentioning this dish to people around the time I made it, and many thought I was on crack.  I wouldn't lead you astray - try experimenting with these flavor combinations...)

I like to occassionally challenge expectations people have about chocolate. 

Take this beet salad I came up with while randomly browsing through the market one afternoon.  Beets are sweet and earthy and I thought they would benefit from a bit of rich chocolate flavor.  But for it to work, I wanted to balance the chocolate and beets with a sharp, citrus acidity and some fresh mint.  After roasting the beets and toasting the pine nuts, I created a dressing with the blood orange juice, olive oil, mint, and then a tablespoon of melted white chocolate.  I tossed the beets in the dressing then and drizzled a little more around the beets on the plate. 

In concept, this dish might create a few skeptical winces.  But my taste tasters have assured me that this dish is nothing short of tasty.  I agree, mainly because of the judicious amount of chocolate I used and the fact that the earthiness of the chocolate makes such a great combo with the beets.

Finally, I would most likely pair this salad with an rich white wine...again, not a traditional pairing for chocolate.

Comments

[tami]

this looks *amazing*. i am such a sucker for beets!! i just made a blood orange and chocolate salad...but would have never thought to add beets to it. yum :))

[mike]

wow, this combo sounds amazing. thanks for sharing!

[joe]

thanks guys. tami, blood orange and chocolate salad sounds great...i added roasted baby carrots to this the first time i tried it, also a nice addition.

[bea at la tartine gourmande]

Beautiful idea. I love the idea of chocolate in savoury food, and love beets a lot. All kins, colours and compositions.

[JMG]

Sounds delicious! Care to share the proportions you used for the dressing?

[Tim]

It sounds like a magical combination. I would probably add something cheesy - perhaps some goats cheese. Otherwise it meets my approval.

[Linda]

wow this looks amazing. the colors really pop in this photo too. nice work. ive been craving a salad like this lately.

[chris]

I minced preserved lemons and made a preserved lemon vinaigrette. Both were good, but the vin made the beet stand out