Pickled Baby Beets Amuse Bouche

This amuse bouche featuring Pickled Baby Beets with herbed goat cheese and candied kumquats is an elegant starter for a dinner party.

Years and years ago, I was asked to participate in an online challenge through Kitchen PLAY. The challenge consisted of six different bloggers all creating original recipes centered around one ingredient.

In this particular challenge, we were all tasked with creating recipes using pickled baby beets and I was assigned the amuse bouche which really gave my imagination free reign in the kitchen. Amuse bouche translates from the French as “amuse the mouth” and I think that’s an apt description for this heavenly little bite I created.

I’ve always loved beets. Just adore them, really. Their rich, earthy smell and taste pairs well with so many other things. And one of the flavors with which they pair best is citrus. The bright, sweet citrus notes contrast with the beets in an unexpectedly pleasant way.

I thought it would be interesting to also add an herbal component to the mix with some of the fresh basil that is always overflowing in my summer herb garden. I find that basil has some of the same flavor notes as citrus which further bumped up that profile.

But I didn’t want my one little bite to be overwhelmed by sweet citrus. I wanted some contrast and that is nicely provided by the herbed goat cheese.

The finished recipe is definitely amusing to the mouth with its sweet little slice of candied kumquat, one perfectly pickled, earthy baby beet, and a contrasting bite of creamy herbed goat cheese.

I truly hope you’ll try these little bites and enjoy them just like we did. They’re pretty impressive to offer your guests at a fancy dinner party.

• It’s elegantly different from most dinner party appetizers.
• Easy to make ahead.
• Bursting with an unusual combination of flavors!

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• Fresh Kumquats – You’ve probably seen kumquats in the produce section of your grocery store during the winter holiday season. They’re a beautiful little citrus fruit about the size of a large olive and the whole fruit is edible! There’s no need to peel them, but I do remove the seeds for this recipe.
• Goat Cheese – You’ll want a plain, unflavored goat cheese for this recipe. We’ll add lots of fresh, herby basil to make it flavorful!
• Pickled Baby Beets – These sweet, earthy treats taste like beet candy! I recommend Aunt Nellie’s brand.

Start by making the candied kumquats. Rinse and dry the kumquats. Then remove a small slice from each end and discard. Slice the kumquats into thin slices (about 3-4 per fruit) removing all seeds as you work.

In a small, heavy-bottomed pan place the water, sugar, basil leaf, and prepared kumquat slices. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat swirling the pan occasionally to help the sugar dissolve.

Reduce the heat to maintain a slow simmer and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the kumquat slices to cool completely in the liquid. Drain the slices and set aside until needed.

Next, prepare the herbed goat cheese. Simply combine the goat cheese, lemon zest, finely chopped fresh basil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and stir until thoroughly combined. Set that aside for now.

Prepare the beets by simply draining away the liquid and placing them on some paper towels to continue draining until you’re ready to assemble.

Prepare one silver spoon for each serving. To each spoon, add approximately 1/2 teaspoon of herbed goat cheese. Top with one whole pickled baby beet and a slice of candied kumquat.

Garnish with a sliver of finely julienned fresh basil.

👉 PRO TIP: I chose to serve the amuse bouche in single bites assembled in silver spoons. You may choose a neutral cracker or small piece of melba toast for serving.

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More Questions? I’m happy to help!

If you have more questions about the recipe, or if you’ve made it and would like to leave a comment, scroll down to leave your thoughts, questions, and/or rating!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

📖 Recipe

Pickled Baby Beets Amuse Bouche

This Pickled Baby Beets Amuse Bouche with candied kumquats is an elegant starter for a dinner party.

4.75 from 4 votes

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Course: Appetizers

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes minutes

Servings: 15 -20 servings

Calories: 66kcal

Author: Lana Stuart

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Ingredients

• ▢ 8 ounces kumquats
• ▢ ½ cup water
• ▢ ½ cup sugar
• ▢ 1 large basil leaf
• ▢ 4 ounces goat cheese room temperature
• ▢ ½ teaspoon lemon zest
• ▢ 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh basil
• ▢ dash of salt
• ▢ dash ground black pepper
• ▢ 16 ounces pickled baby beets (1 jar of recommended brand: Aunt Nellie's)
• ▢ 2 fresh basil leaves julienned

Instructions

Make the candied kumquats:

• Rinse and dry the kumquats. Remove a small slice from each end and discard. Slice kumquats into thin slices (about 3-4 per fruit) removing all seeds as you work.
• In a small, heavy-bottomed pan place the water, sugar, basil leaf and prepared kumquats. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat swirling the pan occasionally to help the sugar dissolve. Reduce heat to a slow simmer and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
• Remove pan from the heat and allow the kumquat slices to cool completely in the liquid.
• Drain the slices and set aside until needed.

Make the herbed goat cheese:

• Combine the goat cheese, lemon zest, basil, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Stir until thoroughly combined.
• Prepare the beets:Drain the liquid from the beets and place them on absorbent paper towels to drain briefly.

Assemble the amuse bouche:

• Prepare one silver spoon for each serving.
• To each spoon, add approximately 1/2 teaspoon of herbed goat cheese. Top with one whole Aunt Nellie’s Baby Pickled Beet and a slice of candied kumquat. Garnish with a sliver of finely julienned fresh basil.

Notes

Note: I chose to serve the amuse bouche in single bites assembled in silver spoons. You may choose a neutral cracker or small piece of melba toast for serving.

Nutrition Information

Serving 1 | Calories 66kcal | Carbohydrates 11g | Protein 2g | Fat 2g | Saturated Fat 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat 1g | Monounsaturated Fat 1g | Cholesterol 3mg | Sodium 88mg | Potassium 75mg | Fiber 2g | Sugar 10g | Vitamin A 134IU | Vitamin C 8mg | Calcium 25mg | Iron 1mg

Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.

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I received compensation from Kitchen Play for this post.

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