Beet and Pear Napoleons with Ginger Juice Vinaigrette
An elegant appetizer featuring layers of thinly sliced roasted beets and fresh pears, dressed with a vibrant ginger-orange vinaigrette and garnished with fresh tarragon, grated apple, and poppy seeds.
Ingredients
- •2 whole trimmed medium red beets
- •1 piece peeled ginger
- •⅓ cup fresh orange juice
- •¼ teaspoon sugar
- •1½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- •2 whole large firm-ripe Anjou pears
- •1 bunch tarragon
- •1 cup mixed baby greens
- •1 whole Granny Smith apple
- •1 piece 1-inch round cookie cutter
- •1 serving sea salt and poppy seeds
Cooking Instructions
- 1.
Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle.
5 min
- 2.
Wrap beets in foil and roast until tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Let stand until cool enough to handle, then slice crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Cool completely.
90 min
- 3.
Meanwhile, finely grate ginger with a Microplane over a kitchen-towel-lined bowl. Carefully gather towel around ginger and squeeze until you have 2 tablespoons ginger juice. Whisk in orange juice, sugar, and oil. Season with salt and pepper. Divide vinaigrette evenly between 2 small bowls.
10 min
- 4.
Cut pears lengthwise around core into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cut out 18 rounds from slices using cookie cutter and put in one bowl of vinaigrette.
10 min
- 5.
Cut out 18 rounds from beet slices and put in other bowl. Toss pears and beets with vinaigrette to coat well.
5 min
- 6.
To assemble napoleons, put 1 beet round on each of 6 plates (see cooks' note, below) and top with a tarragon leaf. Top with 1 pear round, then another tarragon leaf. Repeat layering 2 more times. Discard vinaigrette used for beets.
15 min
- 7.
Toss greens with some of remaining vinaigrette and place around each napoleon. Finely grate apple (including skin) into a bowl. Spoon a heaping teaspoon apple on top of each napoleon, then sprinkle with sea salt and poppy seeds. Drizzle with more vinaigrette if desired.
10 min