Beetroot patties recipe
Patties, or kotlety, are a go-to dish in most Russian households. Usually made from minced meat, there are also vegetarian alternatives like this beetroot version. They're served with a piquant horseradish cream. You could also make them with cooked potato and sauerkraut or grated carrot and finely chopped dried apricot.
Tip: Feel free to decide on the size of your patties. Traditionally, they are made in the size of a medium burger patty but you can make them smaller and serve on a platter as part of a sharing zakuski-style (mezze-like) dinner.
Ingredients
For the patties- 2 large raw red beetroots, peeled and grated
- 4 tbsp fine semolina, plus a few tablespoons for coating
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 2 handfuls walnuts, roughly chopped
- 2 handfuls dill, finely chopped
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 2 pinches salt, or to taste
- 1 pinch toasted and freshly ground black peppercorns, or to taste
- 6 tbsp sunflower oil, for shallow frying
- 2 tbsp peeled and grated fresh horseradish root
- 6 tbsp crème fraîche
- 2 tsp white wine vinegar
- 0.5 lemon, finely grated zest and juice
- 1 pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper
Details
- Cuisine: Russian
- Recipe Type: Beetroot
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 15 mins
- Cooking Time: 10 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- Mix together all the ingredients for the patties (except the oil for frying) in a large bowl, and season with salt and pepper, or to your own taste.
- Next, it's time to shape the patties. For the smaller version of the patties (see tip), take a heaped tablespoon of the mixture for each, roll it in your hands into a ball and then flatten it slightly. Sprinkle each side with some semolina.
- To shallow-fry the patties, you will need 4–6 tablespoons of oil but the exact amount, of course, will depend on the size of your frying pan. Before adding the patties, make sure the oil is hot enough. You can always do a test by lowering a teaspoon of the mixture into the oil – you will know it’s ready to go when the mixture starts sizzling straight away.
- Cook for 3–5 minutes on each side until lightly browned, then lay out on kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil and cool down to room temperature.
- To make the horseradish cream, choose the amount of horseradish according to your personal taste and mix the with crème fraîche, vinegar and lemon zest and juice, then season to taste. A pinch of salt and pepper will do.
- Serve the patties on a platter with a small bowl of horseradish cream placed in the middle or individually plated with some bread and a simple green salad.
This recipe is from Salt & Time by Alissa Timoshkina. Published by Mitchell Beazley, £25. Photography by Lizzie Mayson.
You might also like:
Beetroot, goats' cheese and thyme tart
Beetroot and horseradish pierogi