How to make beetroot with crispy basil and mustard seed oil

Before it's past its best, make the most of any fresh basil you've got. Either fry it or turn it into pesto and keep as frozen cubes to use in soups in November, for a welcome summer flashback

The perfect way to ensure your basil keeps on giving (Photography by Julia Platt Leonard)

The basil plant in my garden is just holding on. It’s not long for this season, so it’s time to harvest what I can and make batches of pesto and basil oil.

Pesto I pop into ice cube trays, freeze and then store in resealable bags or plastic containers.

Drop one or two cubes into soups or stews in November for a welcome summer flashback.

But before that, pick a handful of leaves and fry them quickly. They look like small shards of green stained glass and add a delicate crunch to salads.

The frying oil will be gently infused with the aroma of basil and ideal to reuse to make a quick mustard seed oil.

The oil makes more than you need for this recipe but it’s a nice fat to use when you’re sautéing greens.

If you like, skip the ricotta and keep it vegan. Serve as is or on a bed of greens. If you do use ricotta, and have any leftovers, blitz them and spread the creamy mixture on slices of sour dough toast.

(Julia Platt Leonard)

Beetroot with crispy basil and mustard seed oil

Serves 4

200g baby beetroot, about two bunches
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
Small handful of basil leaves, washed and thoroughly dried
1 Tbsp yellow mustard seeds
100ml olive oil + additional for the beetroot
150g ricotta (optional)

Preheat oven to 220°. If the beetroot still have their stems attached, trim them, leaving about a centimetre. Scrub the beetroot but don’t peel the skin. Leave smaller beetroot whole but slice any larger ones in half.

Set a piece of aluminium foil in a baking pan and place the beetroot on the foil. Drizzle to coat with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Bring together the ends of the foil to form a packet. Place in the preheated oven and cook for 30-40 minutes, until a knife inserts easily into the beetroot.

While the beetroot are cooking, place the 100ml of olive oil in a small saucepan. Heat to medium – hot enough that a drop of water sputters on contact. Add the basil a few leaves at a time.

The oil will spit so be careful or use a splatter guard. Fry the leaves for 5 seconds or until you can see them crisp up. Gently remove and place on a sheet of towel paper. Repeat with the remaining leaves.

When the leaves are all fried, add the yellow mustard seeds to the oil and cook for a few minutes until the seeds start to sputter. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the mustard oil to cool.

Take the cooked beets from the foil packet and gently slip off the skins. Discard the skins and toss the beetroot in the vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. To serve, crumble the ricotta onto a serving plate.

Add the beetroot. Drizzle with some of the mustard seed oil with the mustard seeds. Dot with the fried basil leaves and serve.

@Juliapleonard