Gold Medal Sliders

4.70
(6)

In honour of the Olympics, Dave Mechlowicz turns golden beets into delicious sliders that resemble gleaming gold medals. Bonus: Instead of discarding the beet greens, turn them into a vibrant pesto, because every slider deserves a winning sauce.

A fallback image for Food Network UK

Ingredients

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C
  2. Separate the beets from the greens. Set aside the greens. Place the beets on a large sheet of heavy-duty tin-foil. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil, add the rosemary sprigs and season with salt and pepper. Fold the foil up and around the beets to create a closed packet and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until tender, 1 hour. Open the packet carefully to release the steam, then refrigerate the packet for 2 hours or up to 3 days. 
  3. Put the reserved beet greens (about 2 cups), basil leaves, walnuts, Parmesan, garlic, honey and lemon juice in a blender. Season with salt and pepper. Turn on the blender and drizzle in the 1 cup oil until smooth. If the pesto becomes too thick, add 1 tablespoon of water. Set aside. 
  4. If using bacon, put the slices in a large cold skillet and cook over medium heat, flipping halfway through, until crispy, about 6 minutes total. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
  5. When the beets are chilled, discard the rosemary from the foil packet. Wearing food prep gloves, peel the skin from the chilled beets with a paring knife. Slice the beets into about twelve 1/2-inch-thick rounds (or gold medals). Any smaller pieces of the beets can also be used to make a slider, so do not discard. Slice the goat cheese into twelve 1/8-inch-thick rounds. Cut the bacon slices in half if using. 
  6. Spread the pesto on the inside of the top and bottom of a slider bun. Place a few rocket leaves on the bottom bun and top with 1 beet round, 1 goat cheese round, half a piece of bacon if using, a drizzle of balsamic glaze and the top bun. Repeat with the remaining buns, pesto, rocket, beets, goat cheese and balsamic. Serve. 
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Overall Rating:
4.70
(6)