When I was young, my mother used to go to the greengrocer and buy some dark red “strange tubers”, ready-cooked, that she ate in the salad. I wasn’t attracted at all by these vegetables. That’s why beetroots have been for ages unknown to me. Until the day in which I read on the Web they are so good for your health and I decided to take them into consideration.

The beetroot is mostly composed by water (90%) and it is considered one of the healtiest food in the world. It has a high content of fibers, vitamins and mineral salts (calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium) and it is rich in valuable nutrients and antioxidants. It has anti-cancer properties, gives detoxification support, provide cardiovascular benefits, helps to purify blood and liver, can improve heart health, by lowering blood pressure and increasing blood flow. It promotes regularity for a healthy digestive tract. It has so many nutrients that can improve your health!
And then… it has that wonderful colour that goes from red to violet and it gets striking fushia when it is mixed to other white elements like I do in this recipe.
Here is a mousse, so simple to prepare and so beautiful on the table, with a very nice taste. Serve it as an hors d’oeuvre or before dinner with a glass of wine.

Ingredients:
150 g of ready-cooked beetroots
80/100 gr of soft cheese (I chose caprino)
some leaves of basil
a handful of hazelnuts
extravirgin olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Peel the ready-cooked beetroots by slipping off the skin (I advise you to wear some rubber gloves not to have your fingers stained red), cut it into pieces and put it in a blender together with the caprino cheese, the basil leaves and the hazelnuts (remember to keep some to decorate the plate), with a spoon of extravirgin olive oil. Blend until very fine. Then add some salt and pepper and serve in small bowl, decorated with the hazelnuts.

There is a vegan alternative, even if I have to admit that the real cheese version is more savoury. You can replace cheese with some spreadable tofu, adding some squeezed lemon to resemble the acidity of the caprino cheese.