It isn’t often that I make a recipe and say, “That was fun! I’ll probably never make it again.” 😆 This is one of those rare recipes: fun, whimsical, easy, and pretty tasty . . . but also a little too “out there” for regular use. I had a feeling that might be the case when I decided to make it for my current blog menu, but I was so intrigued when I read its description in the book MY FINE FELLOW, I couldn’t help but make it!

In MY FINE FELLOW, main character Elijah enters the Royal Culinary Exhibition and makes this recipe as one of his competition dishes. It’s not really meant to be something you’d make at home. Instead, it’s supposed to showcase Elijah’s gourmet cooking skills. The book describes these cheese bites as homemade queso fresco colored with beet powder and dotted with nigella seeds, each with a strawberry stem on top.

I had a LOT of fun puzzling out how to bring a dish like this to life! First, I dried my own beets in my dehydrator and ground them down to a powder. Then I mixed them in with queso fresco I made using a recipe from Goodie Godmother. Rather than dotting the outside with nigella seeds, I decided to use black sesame, which I already had on hand and looks similar. Since strawberries aren’t in season, I topped the finished cheese bites with basil leaves instead of strawberry stems. The final flavor combo was a bit different from the story but still really delicious. I was pleasantly surprised that you could really taste the beets!

While I probably won’t be making beet-dyed, sesame-studded queso fresco strawberries again soon, I DO intend to use the methods I learned again in the future. The basic queso fresco recipe will become part of my regular cheesemaking at home, and I’m looking forward to experimenting with more powdered fruits and vegetables as natural dyes and flavor enhancers.

I’ve been having so much fun learning knew recipes and techniques as I make this menu. It’s been such a refreshing challenge. I can’t wait to see where it takes me next!

 A

Queso Fresco Strawberries: Homemade Queso Fresco Colored with Powdered Beets, Studded with Black Sesame Seeds, and Topped with Basil

“He’d colored more of his homemade queso fresco–one of Penelope’s recipes–with beet powder, which he’d molded into spheres, dotted with nigella seeds, and topped with strawberry stems to approximate the look of strawberries while adding a creamy element to the dish.”

— My Fine Fellow

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 medium beets
• 1 qt whole milk
• 1/4 cup vinegar or lemon juice
• a cheesecloth
• salt to taste
• black sesame seeds
• small basil leaves

 

Makes 6 cheese bites

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. FOR THE BEET POWDER. Peel the beets and slice very thin (I used the second setting on my mandolin). Place slices in a dehydrator set to approx. 160°F for 4 hours or until completely dry. If you have a spice grinder, blitz the slices in the grinder until they become a fine powder. Otherwise, place slices in a sealed plastic bag and crush as much as you can with a rolling pin. You should get approx. 2 1/2 Tbsp of beet powder. Set aside.
2. NOTE: You can purchase premade beet powder online or at most major grocery stores, though it is a more expensive alternative.
3. FOR THE QUESO. In a medium saucepan, heat milk and 4 tsp beet powder on medium heat until it reaches 165-180°F on a food thermometer, stirring frequently. Do not allow to boil. Remove from heat.
4. If you used the rolling pin method to crush the beet slices, you will want to strain the beet residue out of the pan. To do this, I recommend pouring the contents through a strainer into a medium bowl, then transferring the milk back to the pan.
5. Add vinegar to the pan and gently stir just until you start to see curds form. Allow to rest for 15-20 minutes. While you wait, place a wire mesh strainer over a large bowl. Line the strainer with a cheesecloth.
6. Pour the curds and whey in the saucepan over the cheesecloth. Allow to rest for 10-15 minutes. Salt to taste. Twist the cheese cloth tightly around the top to make a puck of cheese and allow to rest in the strainer for another 10 minutes.
7. NOTE: There are some uses for whey, but you may want to discard it in this circumstance, since it’s dyed pink and tastes like beets. Luckily, you shouldn’t have any issues washing the pink coloring out of the cheesecloth as long as you wash it the same day.
8. TO ASSEMBLE. You should have approximately 5 oz of cheese. Divide this into 6 equal pieces and shape them like eggs. Gently press sesame seeds onto each cheese bite to look like strawberry seeds. Stick a few small basil leaves into the wide end of each cheese bite to look like strawberry leaves.
9. Serve at the Royal Culinary Exhibition!

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Check out my homemade ricotta recipe!