Gordon Ramsay’s beetroot salad combines raw candy beetroot with roasted beetroot, whipped goat’s cheese, toasted hazelnuts and a balsamic dressing, ready in about 40 minutes.
In Quick and Delicious, Ramsay calls this his “Beetroot Salad with Whipped Goat’s Cheese” and describes how a striped candy beetroot “transforms this salad from a nice-looking dish to a stunning one.” His whipped cheese is made by blending soft goat’s cheese with cream cheese, lemon zest and lemon thyme until smooth, which creates something closer to a mousse than the crumbled lumps you see on most competitor pages. The raw beetroot slices sit in the sherry vinegar dressing while you prepare everything else, lightly pickling them in the process.
The technique that makes this salad work is the contrast between raw and cooked. Raw beetroot is crunchy, earthy and slightly sharp, while roasted beetroot is soft, sweet and concentrated. Putting both on the same plate means every forkful is different, and the whipped cheese bridges the two textures by adding something cool and creamy against both. It is a starter that looks like it took an hour but actually relies on one good idea executed well.
Gordon Ramsay Beetroot Salad
Course: Salads, Starters2
servings15
minutes8
minutes23
minutesFrom Gordon Ramsay’s Quick and Delicious (2019), this beetroot salad pairs raw candy beetroot with roasted beetroot, whipped goat’s cheese with lemon thyme, and toasted hazelnuts in a sherry vinegar dressing.
Ingredients
40g (1½ oz) hazelnuts
1 raw candy beetroot
4 cooked beetroots (about 250g / 9 oz in total)
Half a bag (60g / 2 oz) shop-bought beetroot salad mixture
For the dressing:
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
1 tbsp beetroot juice (optional)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the whipped cheese:
100g (3½ oz) soft goat’s cheese
50g (2 oz) cream cheese
Zest of ½ lemon
2 lemon thyme sprigs, leaves picked
1 to 2 tsp water
Directions
- Toast the hazelnuts: Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan / Gas 4). Spread the hazelnuts over a small baking tray and toast for 5 to 8 minutes until dark golden brown. Remove and leave to cool.
- Make the dressing: Put the sherry vinegar, beetroot juice if using, Dijon mustard and olive oil into a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and whisk well.
- Prepare the raw beetroot: Using a mandoline or very sharp knife, slice the candy beetroot as finely as you can. Use a round pastry cutter (about 6.5cm) to stamp a circle from each slice, then place the circles in the dressing to pickle lightly while you prepare the rest.
- Whip the cheese: Place the goat’s cheese, cream cheese, lemon zest, lemon thyme leaves and a pinch of salt and pepper in a food processor. Blend until smooth, adding a little water to loosen if needed. Place in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Assemble: Quarter the cooked beetroots and toss them in a bowl with the salad mixture and half the dressing. Divide between plates, then lift the raw candy beetroot circles from the dressing and arrange on top. Dot with spoonfuls of the whipped cheese, drizzle with the remaining dressing and crush the cooled hazelnuts over each plate.
FAQs
Can you use pre-cooked vacuum-packed beetroot?
Yes, and Ramsay’s recipe actually calls for pre-cooked beetroot rather than roasting your own. The raw element comes from the candy beetroot sliced on a mandoline. If you want to roast instead, wrap raw beetroot in foil with rock salt and thyme at 180C for 35 to 45 minutes. More intense flavour, but adds significant time.
What can you use instead of candy beetroot?
Candy beetroot (also called Chioggia) has a milder flavour and distinctive pink and white rings. If you cannot find it, use regular raw beetroot sliced very thin on a mandoline. The flavour will be earthier and it will stain the cheese, but it works. Ramsay’s tip: use a round pastry cutter to stamp circles from the slices so you skip peeling and get uniform shapes.
Can you use golden beetroot instead of red?
Golden beetroot is a better choice if you care about presentation because it does not bleed purple juice over the whipped cheese or the plate. Try using golden for the raw sliced element and red for the roasted quarters so you get both colours without the staining. It tastes milder and slightly sweeter than red, which pairs well with the sherry vinegar. Most UK supermarkets stock them seasonally from late summer, or try farmers’ markets year-round.
How does this compare to Nigel Slater’s beetroot salad?
Nigel keeps things deliberately simple: roasted beetroot, crumbled goat’s cheese, red wine vinegar, salt. That is the entire recipe. Ramsay adds layers: raw and cooked beetroot together, the goat’s cheese whipped with cream cheese and lemon thyme until smooth, a more complex sherry vinegar dressing, and toasted hazelnuts for crunch. Nigel’s is a weeknight side that takes 5 minutes to assemble. Ramsay’s is a starter you would serve to guests. Both are honest about what they are.
Does Ramsay make other beetroot salads?
He has three across his books. In Fast Food he makes a simpler version with baby beets, goat’s cheese, apple and hazelnuts in a balsamic vinaigrette. In Great British Pub Food he pairs roasted beetroot with grapefruit, goat’s cheese and hazelnuts. The common thread across all three is goat’s cheese and hazelnuts, which tells you Ramsay thinks that pairing just works.
What should you serve beetroot salad with?
It works best as a starter before something rich: pan-seared duck, roast lamb, or even a beef stew. The earthy sweetness of the beetroot and sharpness of the cheese cut through fatty mains without competing. For a full salad meal, pair it with his Italian rocket salad for contrast: one earthy and sweet, the other peppery and sharp.
Does beetroot salad keep well?
The dressed cooked beetroot keeps in a sealed container for up to two days in the fridge, and the whipped cheese holds for three days separately. But do not assemble the full plate ahead of time because the beetroot juice bleeds into the cheese and the hazelnuts lose their crunch. Keep everything in separate containers and plate up just before serving. If you need a salad that holds better for packed lunches, his chargrilled broccoli salad travels much better. See his winter salads from his books for more cold-weather options.
