Roasted beetroot is one of the most underrated autumn vegetables. Sweet, earthy, dense, it is only waiting for a tart, fragrant counterpoint to reveal its full character. Bergamot olive oil — made by crushing the fresh fruit together with the olives at the moment of extraction, with no added flavouring — is exactly that counterpoint. The result: an autumn carpaccio that is both simple and unexpected, and that calls for no special technique or hard-to-find ingredient.
Why bergamot works so well with beetroot
A game of contrasts
Roasting concentrates the beetroot's natural sugars. The flesh turns almost candied, with an earthy, mineral undertone. It is precisely that sweet density that calls for a counterpoint. Ordinary lemon does the job, but it is too blunt. Bergamot brings a finer acidity, floral, slightly bitter on the finish — a profile that converses with the beetroot instead of flattening it.
Bergamot olive oil adds a third dimension: the fatty roundness of the olive, which carries the fruit's aromas and lays them on the palate little by little. You taste the sweetness of the beetroot first, then the freshness of the bergamot, then a light vegetal bitterness. It is a pairing that is easy to understand and easy to get right.
What it is not
An oil flavoured with bergamot — made by adding extract or essence after extraction — gives a very different result: the aroma is louder, often artificial, and it masks the vegetable instead of underlining it. Oil made by co-crushing folds the fruit's aromatic compounds directly into the fat as it is pressed: the aroma is integrated, coherent, lingering without taking over. The bergamot olive oil awarded at the Épicures d'Argent 2023 is made this way.
The recipe, step by step
Ingredients for 4
- 6 medium raw beetroots (about 800 g), ideally red and yellow for the look
- 4 tablespoons of bergamot olive oil, added in two stages
- 100 g fresh goat's cheese or well-drained ricotta
- 40 g shelled fresh walnuts (at their peak in September and October)
- A small handful of rocket or baby spinach leaves
- Fleur de sel, freshly ground black pepper
- A few drops of lemon juice (optional, to adjust if the beetroots are very sweet)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Wrap each beetroot in foil with a pinch of fleur de sel. Roast for 50 to 60 minutes depending on size, until a knife blade slides in without resistance.
- Let them cool for 15 minutes, then peel the beetroots by hand under cold water. The skin comes away easily at this point. Start with the yellow beetroots if you are using them, so the red ones do not stain them.
- Slice the beetroots into thin rounds, 3 to 4 mm thick. A sharp knife is enough. A mandoline gives more even slices if you have one.
- Arrange the rounds in overlapping circles on the plates. Season with a first oil: 2 tablespoons of bergamot olive oil, spooned over the slices. Add the fleur de sel and the pepper. Leave to rest for 5 minutes: the beetroot absorbs a little of the oil and the bergamot starts to work into the flesh.
- Scatter the fresh goat's cheese over the top in small quenelles or crumbles. Add the roughly crushed walnuts, then the rocket.
- Finish with a second oil: the remaining 2 tablespoons, drizzled over just as you serve. This is when the bergamot aroma comes through most clearly, because the oil has not been absorbed yet. This step is what separates a well-dressed salad from a dish with real relief.
The mistake to avoid
The temptation is to reach for balsamic vinegar out of habit. On beetroot, the acidity is already there thanks to the bergamot. Balsamic vinegar covers the oil's fine aromas and throws the whole thing off balance. If you want an extra tart note, go for a few drops of lemon juice instead, which reinforce the logic of the pairing rather than contradict it.
Variations and adaptations
The southern version
In Calabria, beetroots are often cooked whole in the embers, the way winter vegetables are roasted over a wood fire. The smoky effect that results changes the perception of the bergamot entirely: it becomes sharper, almost wild, and the pairing with fresh goat's cheese intensifies. Without embers, a few minutes under the oven grill at the end of cooking partly reproduces the effect.
Adapting the recipe for a restaurant service
This recipe works very well prepared ahead: roasted beetroots keep for 48 hours in the fridge, unpeeled. Plating takes under two minutes at service. The first oil can go on as you slice, the second poured in front of the guest to create a memorable moment at the table. Teams looking to add a flavoured oil to their menu will find details on the professional formats available through the section for trade customers.
Pairing with seasonal walnuts
Fresh walnuts from September and October are still slightly moist, with a gentle bitterness and little astringency. They complement the bergamot profile better than last year's dried walnuts. If you cannot find fresh walnuts, Piedmont hazelnuts toasted dry in a pan for a few minutes are an alternative in keeping with the Italian identity of the dish.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make this carpaccio ahead for a family meal?
Yes. Roast and peel the beetroots the day before and keep them whole in the fridge. Slice and season them with the first oil up to two hours before the meal. The second oil and the garnish (goat's cheese, walnuts, rocket) go on at the last moment, just before serving. The carpaccio holds well for an hour at room temperature before the rocket wilts.
Can bergamot olive oil be used on other autumn vegetables too?
Yes, and it is worth doing. Bergamot goes particularly well with dense, sweet-fleshed vegetables: roasted carrot, sweet potato, butternut squash. It also works on pan-fried mushrooms, where it brings lightness to a dish that is often heavy. Start with a few drops as a finishing touch to gauge the quantity: the aroma lingers, and it is better to use too little than too much.
What is the difference between bergamot olive oil and a flavoured oil sold in supermarkets?
The difference is in the process: an oil made by co-crushing the fresh fruit with the olives folds the aromas in at the moment of extraction, which makes them inseparable from the fat. A flavoured oil receives an extract or an essence added afterwards. The taste is different: the first is integrated and lingering, the second is often more intense but less complex. The bergamot olive oil awarded at the Épicures d'Argent 2023 is made by co-crushing.
If you want to go further with the range, the Trio of olive oils discovery set in its Terracotta box lets you explore several profiles side by side — a good way to understand how each oil behaves differently depending on the vegetable or the preparation.
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