Baked Beetroot Wedges, Vinaigrette-infused Beetroot Slices, Purple Cauliflower Puree, and Sauce-less Red Cabbage Okonomiyaki.

If a rainbow was made up of only purple, this plate would include the deepest and brightest shades of it.

This is the first time I’m sending in a valid entry for Steemit Culinary Challenge after making a Fail Entry for SCC #38. This time, I was sure to read the rules twice! Hope I missed nothing out!

This week’s SCC judge chose a unique theme — Monochrome.

DISH NAME

Deep & Bright Shades of a Purple Rainbow

There are four main components to this dish, and each one showcases a naturally purple ingredient. No artificial colouring was used.

Component #1: Baked Beetroot Wedges

Who knew that baked beetroot wedges would turn out this awesome? I just know I'm going to make this one again. Somehow the essence of the flavour attained is similar to its baked sweet potato counterparts, but accompanied by a juicy, cleaner texture.

Ingredients Used in Baked Beetroot Wedges
2 Beetroots, peeled and cut into thin, uniform wedges (wear a glove to prevent staining your fingers!!)
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar (to enhance the beetroot flavour)
1/2 tsp Dried Thyme Leaves
1/4 tsp Dried Red Chili Flakes
1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/8 tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground
Sea Salt (to taste)

How to Make the Baked Beetroot Wedges

Preheat the oven to 200° C. Mix all ingredients except beetroot together in a bowl.

On a baking paper, place beet wedges in a single layer. Coat the wedges evenly with the mixture.

Bake till beets are done and slightly browning (25 min).

Component #2: Vinaigrette-infused Beetroot Slices

A strong red wine vinaigrette pairs well with the natural sweetness of beetroot. I made this recipe to the taste of my sister-in-law, who loves all things sour, and she must have said 'Yummy' 5 times while eating it. LOL!! Personally, I found the vinaigrette a tad strong, but not so much that it overpowered the beetroot.

Ingredients Used in Vinaigrette-infused Beetroot Slices

2 Beetroots, washed
2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tsp Maple syrup
1/2 tsp Fig Mustard
1 Garlic Clove, crushed
1/8 tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground
Sea Salt (to taste)

How to Make the Vinaigrette-infused Beetroot Slices

Bring a pot of water with a little salt to a boil. Add beetroots and boil till cooked (45 min). Drain and set aside till cool. When cool, peel beetroot by rubbing skin off gently with a paper towel. Thinly slice beetroots.

Combine all other ingredients together to make a vinaigrette. Immerse beetroot slices in the vinaigrette and chill for an hour.

Component #3: Purple Cauliflower Puree

I had originally wanted to do a mash using purple potatoes. Since I couldn’t find that in the supermarkets, and since I recalled that cauliflower is a great substitute for a lot of starches (including potatoes), I decided to make a purple cauliflower puree instead!

This ended up quite a flop, since I must have over-cooked the cauliflower florets (they ended up with a bluish tinge!!! =O). Trying to salvage the situation, I added boiled beetroot to my puree, but somehow the end result was not satisfying enough. Though the Puree became a supernumerary rather than a main actor of my dish, I decided to add it into my Sauce-less Red Cabbage Okonomiyaki (Component #4). So, not everything was lost! =D

Ingredients Used in Purple Cauliflower Puree
Purple Cauliflower, chopped into florets
1 tbsp Unsalted Butter
5 Roasted Garlic Cloves
60 ml Heavy Cream
1/8 tsp Smoked Paprika Powder
1/8 tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground
Sea Salt (to taste)
Color salvaging ingredient: Boiled Beetroot

How to Make the Purple Cauliflower Puree

Bring a large pot of water and salt to boil. Add cauliflower and cook until tender (8-10 min). In the meantime, combine butter, salt, pepper, garlic, and heavy cream in a bowl. Drain cauliflower and add it into the bowl. Add roasted garlic cloves. Mash the contents with a fork till crumbly, then transfer to blender to make a puree.

Component #4: Sauce-less Red Cabbage Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki is a Japanese-style pancake that is brimming with cabbage. After being pan-fried to perfection on a hot stone plate, It is typically heaped with mayonnaise, okonomiyaki sauce, and bonito (fish) flakes. In keeping with my purple theme, I decided to make mine sauce-less. Since the other components on the plate are so juicy, this was not a problem at all. =)

Ingredients Used in the Sauce-less Red Cabbage Okonomiyaki
Red Cabbage Leaves, finely sliced
1/2 Red Onion, minced
1 tbsp Purple Cauliflower Puree (Component #3)
2 tsp Rice Flour
1 tsp Plain White Flour
1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
1 Chicken Egg
1/8 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Sea Salt (to taste)
Sunflower Oil (for pan-frying)

How to Make the Sauce-less Red Cabbage Okonomiyaki

Combine all ingredients and mix well with a spoon. Pan-fry on high heat.

ASSEMBLE THE PLATE

Gather up all the components in a semi-circle around your plate.

Line up Baked Beetroot Wedges in a neat row. Quarter the Sauce-less Red Cabbage Okonomiyaki and place below the wedges. Arrange Vinaigrette-infused Beetroot Slices in a circular fashion, each slice overlapping the next. Add a small blob of Purple Cauliflower Puree in the centre of the Beetroot Slices and top with a purple cauliflower floret.

Place tiny purple cauliflower florets randomly throughout the dish. Wedge two purple cabbage strips between the Okonomiyaki quarters. There!

A poet could not be but gay (this is a William Wordsworth reference) while eating this dish. =P

A big thank you goes to @woman-onthe-wing. Without her, this contest would be naught.

Of course, in it’s 41st round, there must be a lot of support ensuring the longevity of this weekly challenge series. Current sponsors @gringalicious and @sirwinchester and recent sponsor @englishtchrivy, as well as all the contestants and upvoters/resteemers/word-spreaders past and present are instrumental in this role. Many thanks to every individual Steemian. You all rock!! =D