For the cold beetroot cream:
3 cooked beetroots
5 mid sized ripe tomatoes
1/2 cucumber
1 red pepper
6 soup spoons of light olive oil
3 soup spoons of apple vinegar
a pinch of salt
1 soup spoon of Las Tirajanas olive oil
Peel and chop up the ingredients. Blend in with olive oil until reaching a rich texture. Add the three spoonfuls of vinegar, salt to taste, and continue blending until the mixture reaches the proper creamy texture. Press the cream through a strainer and allow to cool off.
For the foam:
200 ml milk
400 ml cream
200 g cheese from Artenara
Heat up the milk, and remove from heat before adding the grated cheese so that it melts in. Add the cream straight after. Put it through a sieve and pour it into a syphon. Then shake well. Allow to settle for around 3 hours in the fridge until completely cooled.
Place a round mould in the middle of the bowl. Put the foam inside with the syphon. Pour the cold beetroot cream in, and decorate with edible flowers, beetroot shoots and a shot of olive oil from Las Tirajanas.
With this recipe Gloria Rodríguez attempts to pay tribute to the local land and products, reflecting a fine local cuisine based on honesty and authenticity.
She has chosen to cook with leafy vegetables with their characteristically earthy flavours, and with so many healthy properties, including beetroot, along with the specially selected Queso de Artenara, which is a high quality artisan product thanks to the richness of pastures up at the island’s summit providing a luscious larder for flocks of goats, cows and sheep, and facilitate the production process by the master cheesemakers.
Our 14th 'dish-enhancing' secret ingredient
For years now, the southeast region of Gran Canaria has been promoting activities to re-establish olive production, and thus bring back a farming tradition that goes back many generations.
The region is strongly backing olive oil for future prosperity. Its production has been rising steadily and has led to a growing number of brands selling extra virgin olive oil. This locally produced oil maintains a smooth flavour as well as a slightly bitter ‘home-grown’ version. It is a truly unique characteristic of the variety grown here in Gran Canaria.