Who said you need “fine” cuts of meat and fish to create a great dish? There’s a particular kind of boldness in “elevating” a root vegetable that grows in the darkness of the earth—like the beet—and making it the permanent centerpiece of a fine-dining creation. This is the vision of Anne-Sophie Pic, the most awarded female chef in the history of global gastronomy.
Cover photo of the chef: photo by ANNE-EMMANUELLE THION
Photo of the dish: Michel Lafon Publishing
Raised in Valence within a dynasty of culinary titans, Madame Pic didn’t just inherit a tradition—she rewrote it. She was the fourth woman in the world to earn the legendary 3 Michelin Stars for her restaurant Maison Pic, to which have been added over time the highest accolades for her establishments in Lausanne, London, and Paris, amassing a constellation of no fewer than 11 Michelin Stars throughout her career. Named the World’s Best Female Chef by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and awarded the French Legion of Honor, the chef is renowned for her cuisine based on “emotional” textures and aromatic complexity.
What’s more: with this recipe, she demonstrates how a vegetarian approach can completely transform the concept of the traditional Sunday feast. Beets, in fact, aren’t just a side dish—they’re the undisputed queen of the table. Through a dramatic salt-crust cooking technique and the strategic use of cumin—an ingredient capable of releasing warm, spicy notes reminiscent of dill—this green vegetable is elevated, unleashing a complexity of earthy, smoky, and balsamic flavors. A 100% meat-free masterpiece, accessible yet extraordinarily elegant.
Anne-Sophie Pic’s Beet in a Salt Crust
Recipe from “Une chefe dans ma Cuisine,” Marmiton x Anne-Sophie Pic, 2022, Éditions Michel Lafon.
- Serves: 4
- Prep time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Resting time: 30 minutes
Equipment
- Blender / Mixer
- Rolling pin
- Mandoline
- Piping bag
- Fine-mesh strainer
- Baking paper
Ingredients
For the salt and cumin dough
- 5 medium-sized raw beets
- 1 kg flour
- 130 g fine salt
- 30 g cumin
- 250 g water
For the cumin cream
- 200 g fresh cream
- 12 g cumin
For the beet purée
- 300 g beet scraps (left over after cooking)
- 50 g cumin cream
- Salt to taste
For the dill pesto
- 100 g dill
- 30 g water
- Olive oil to taste
- Salt to taste
For the beet and cumin vinaigrette
- 100 g beet juice (collected during cutting)
- 50 g olive oil
- 30 g white balsamic vinegar
- 8 g cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the garnish
- Dill sprouts and flowers
Preparation
1. Salt-crust cooking
- Preparing the spices: Finely grind all the cumin seeds called for in the recipe.
- The dough: In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt, and three-quarters of the ground cumin. Gradually add the water and knead until you have a firm, uniform, and smooth dough. Set it aside to rest.
- Preheating: Preheat the oven to 190°C.
- Wrapping the beets: Wash the beets thoroughly. Roll out the salt dough with a rolling pin to a thickness of 0.5 cm. Sprinkle the surface of the dough with the remaining ground cumin. Wrap each beet in the salt dough, ensuring that the cumin-flavored side is in direct contact with the vegetable’s skin. Form uniform spheres, trimming off any excess dough at the base.
- Baking and resting: Place the spheres on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for about an hour (the time varies depending on the size of the beets): when done, they should be cooked through but still slightly firm. Remove from the oven and let rest for 30 minutes.
2. Preparing the beets
- Extraction: Gently break the salt crust and remove it.
- Smoking (Optional): For an extra touch of character, grill the whole beets (with the skin on) under the oven broiler or on the grill for as long as needed to impart a smoky aroma.
- Cutting and Preparation: Peel the beets. Save the scraps, weigh out 300 g, and set them aside for the purée. Using a mandoline over a bowl, slice the beets into thin 2 mm slices. Keep the slices and the juice left at the bottom of the bowl separate (it will be used for the vinaigrette).
3. Sauces and Condiments
- Cumin cream: In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil along with 12 g of cumin, which has been ground into a powder using a blender. Remove from heat, let steep for 15 minutes, and strain everything through a fine-mesh sieve.
- Beet purée: Blend the 300 g of beet scraps together with 50 g of the freshly prepared cumin cream. Season with salt until a smooth consistency is achieved.
- Dill pesto: Wash the dill and remove the leaves. Place them in a blender with 30 g of water and begin blending, slowly drizzling in the olive oil to emulsify. Season with salt to taste and transfer the pesto to a pastry bag.
- The vinaigrette: In a small bowl, emulsify 100 g of beet juice with the olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, and 8 g of ground cumin. Season with salt and pepper.
Plating
Arrange the beet slices on the plate, alternating them with dollops of purée and drops of shiny dill pesto. Drizzle evenly with the cumin vinaigrette and garnish the dish with fresh dill sprouts and flowers for a visual and aromatic touch of haute cuisine.
