Beetroot baked in Guérande sea salt with a tarragon sauce

Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins-1 hr 30

Serves 4

Preheat the oven to 210 °C (gas mark 7). Chop the tarragon. Prepare the vinaigrette: mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, chopped tarragon, and orange zest together and season with “fleur de sel” sea salt and black pepper. Set aside.

Wash the beetroot. Remove the tops, but do not cut the “bulb”, and set aside. Mix the coarse grey sea salt with several spoonfuls of water. Set aside a cup of sea salt, in case extra cooking is required. Sprinkle half the sea salt into a cast iron casserole dish to a depth of 3 cm. Place in each beetroot. Cover completely with the rest of the sea salt covering each beetroot separately. Bake in the oven for 1 hr 30.

Remove the stalks from the leaves and steam separately, 3 mins for the leaves and 5 mins for the stalks. Refresh in cold water. Wipe dry, immerse in the vinaigrette and set aside.

Test to see if the baked beetroot is ready by inserting a knife into the heart of the beetroot, the blade should slide in smoothly. If necessary, cover with a little moistened sea salt and cook for a further 15 mins. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 15 mins. Break the salt crust and remove as much salt as possible with a pastry brush. Peel the beetroot and slice if necessary. Pour over the orange zest vinaigrette. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate for the night. The flavour of the orange zest and tarragon will be much more present.