Apple and Beet Bones with Candied Ginger

Ingredients:

Buttermilk-apple and Beet "Bones" with Candied Ginger

I wanted to do something new and interesting. The idea of this stemmed from a beet and apple coleslaw with ginger in a buttermilk poppyseed dressing and just kind of involved into this crazy thing. There are a lot of flavors here: sweet apple, tangy buttermilk, savory-sweet beets, nuttiness from almonds and sesame seeds, and a hit of spice from the ginger. Eat the ginger with the beet and apple, which pulls it all together. In the future, I'd use regular sesame seeds, so it looks less sushi-like.

For the sauce:
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 TB sour cream
1/4 tsp lemon zest
1/4 tsp finely grated ginger
1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp honey

For the bones:
1 granny smith apple
1 crisp red-ish apple, like Fuji or Gala
1 yellow beet
1 red beet
1 cup buttermilk

For the ginger:
1 long slice of fresh ginger, sliced very thin
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

To coat the bones:
3 TB almonds, ground to a powder
2 TB sesame seeds

Special tools: concentric biscuit cutters

Step 1:

Trim and wash beets, encase in foil, and roast for 1 hour in a 400 degree oven.

Step 2:

Whisk sauce ingredients together. Set aside.

Step 3:

In a small shallow skillet, bring the water and sugar for the ginger to a boil. Add the ginger and simmer until ginger turns translucent and candies, about 8-10 minutes. Remove and set aside, and reserve the syrup for dessert.

Step 4:

Using biscuit cutters in concentric sizes, slice off a cheek of apple, cut a round with the biscuit cutter, trim so both sides are flat, and set in a shallow bowl of buttermilk.

Step 5:

Cut rounds of beets that are the same thickness as the apple, and cut rounds with the biscuit cutters. I alternated exterior and interior rounds, but you can do whatever you like.

Step 6:

To assemble: pop an inner round into an exterior round, and roll the exterior in the sesame-almond blend. Plate the sauce under the rounds, and serve alongside candied ginger. Sprinkle with coarse salt.