IF YOU fancy something different for dinner this Christmas, Glasgow’s newest Spanish chef has a fantastic festive treat in store.

In the second part of our series on yuletide menus with a difference, Cesar Garcia, from award winning restaurant Ibérica, says his essential ingredient is one perhaps not normally associated with Christmas - beetroot.

“Beetroot is incredibly versatile – it has so many options depending on how you cook it or not as it tastes great raw with a real earthy flavour,” explains Cesar.

“When you cook it, it takes on a sweet taste and you can do it in different styles as we do with this dish - sweet and sour, baked with herbs, pickled and so on.

“It’s one of my favourite ingredients in the UK.”

For a Christmas main course with a difference, Cesar has come up with a tantalising duck and beetroot dish.

“I love this dish because of the flavours and texture of the wild mallard duck, and the way beetroot goes very well with game.”

Iberica opened on St Vincent Street in September, introducing authentic Spanish cuisine, with a focus on food from the Asturias region, to the people of Glasgow.

The menu features everything from bocadillos (sandwiches) and pinchos (small portions) to grilled meats and fish and an extensive drinks and cocktail menu.

Cesar is gearing up for a busy Christmas – his mother is one of five sisters, so the day is spent with relatives – but he won’t be taking his turn in the kitchen.

“I’m the youngest one in my family, so I can’t not be at home with them all,” he smiles.

“You can imagine, it is always a fun day. But no, I don’t cook. It’s a day to feel spoiled by my mum and my aunties.”

INGREDIENTS AND PREPARATION

1 mallard duck breast

13g pure beetroot

30g roast beetroot (see below)

5g beetroot gel (see below)

12g Girolle vinegar

8gr beetroot vinegar

Maldon sea salt

For the beetroot gel:

400 gr beetroot juice

5 g agar-agar

2 g xantan gum

Juice the beetroot in a juicer, add the gums to give it texture, strain it and keep it chilled.

For the roast beetroot

Bake 150mm approx cubes of raw beetroot, sprinkled with a teaspoon each of rosemary and thyme and a sprinkling of salt and covered in aluminium foil, at 180 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.

For the sweet and sour beetroot

1000 g cooked beetroot

350 g chicken stock

30 g honey

250 g sunflower oil

45 g sherry vinegar

Blend the beetroot, strain it, add the chicken stock and boil it until it’s reduced and the texture gets a bit thicker.

Blend in a Thermomix with the honey, add the oil a little by little to help emulsify, once it’s done, add the sherry vinegar.

For the pickled girolle and beetroot

125 g water

100 g cider vinegar

30 g sugar

5 g salt

0.5 g juniper berries

1 g star anise

100g girolle

100g thin sliced beetroot

Boil all the ingredients except the girolle and the beetroot, separate in two containers and add the girolle in one and the sliced beetroot in the other.

RECIPE METHOD

Cook the duck in the Josper oven, take it out and let it rest for 1 minute.

‘Paint’ the plate with the sweet and sour beetroot sauce (put the sauce in the middle of the plate and with the back of a spoon hit it slightly so the sauce goes around the plate in an abstract way). Then place the rest of the ingredients around the plate and put the mallard duck breast (cut in half) in the middle. Finish with a sprinkle of sea salt flakes.