Beet Napoleons with Prosciutto Roses (2024)

I love this recipe for a romantic, champagne, Netflix date-night, or a rich, red wine Gal-entine’s Day with friends. Imagine pairing them with my seared tomato, roasted garlic and burrata bruschetta and pretty Valentines day deviled eggs!

With a Divine Damiana Valentine co*cktail and maybe a for dessert, you’d have a very impressive (and romantic) Valentine’s day spread!

How to Make This Recipe – Step by Step

1. Wash 3 large beets and wrap them in tin foil. Roast them at 350 F. (177 C.) for 1 hour.

2. While the beets roast, make the prosciutto roses. Using kitchen scissors, cut a slice of prosciutto into a piece that’s about 5 inches long and 1 inch wide.

3. Fold it in half so you have a nice, sturdy piece.

4. Gently roll it into a pretty rose. Make 5 more and place them in the refrigerator until your napoleons are done.

5. Remove the beets and allow them to refrigerate until cool, about 15 minutes. Then, thinly slice them into 6 pieces each.

6. Use your small cookie cutter to cut perfect rounds through each slice. Wash each round and dry them with a paper towel to prevent the juice from bleeding into the cream cheese layers.

7. Fill your pastry piping bag with ¼ cup chive cream cheese and add 1 beet to your cookie cutter on the cutting board.

8. Cover the beet with about 1 tsp. of cream cheese.

See Also

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9. Place another beet on top and gently push it down to evenly distribute the cheese between the layers.

10. Gently slide the cookie cutter up so that you can add another layer of cheese and another beet without the first layer of cheese spilling out below.

11. Add another layer of cheese.

12. Then, add 1 more beet, gently pressing down to evenly distribute the layer of cheese below.

13. Gently lift the cookie cutter off of your perfect napoleon.

14. To perfectly adhere your roses to the napoleons, you can add a tiny dot of cream cheese to the top, and simply add your prosciutto roses and a cilantro leaf or two to the top.

1. Why are they called napoleons?

Although they’re not a dessert, they’re named after a specific kind of French pastry, that was one called mille-feuilles (meaning “thousand leaves,” in reference to its layers). This pastry was renamed “napoleon,” and the nickname may be in reference to the emperor, but theories also claim it to be a derivative of the word “Naples,” after the multi-layered cakes of the region. It’s actually a mystery exactly how they got their name.

2. How far in advance can I make these appetizers?

They’ll be delicious for hours if assembled and stored in a container with a lid in the fridge. The longest I’ve stored them was 3 hours, and they were just as tasty as if they were just made – the only issue is that that beet juice will start to bleed into the cheese after about 15-20 minutes and they won’t look quite as pretty. I’d suggest having your beets sliced and cut, your roses made, and ready to assemble about 30 minutes before serving.

A Few Tips

1. Use a cookie cutter that’s no bigger than 1½ inches to keep them bite-size.

Unless you want them to be more of a first course than an appetizer that can be easily lifted with a tooth pick or co*cktail pin, keep it real tiny.

2. Make the prosciutto roses first.

If you’re not used to making teeny, tiny prosciutto roses, you’ll want to give yourself some time to get them just right before assembling the Napoleons. Even when you wash the beets, they’ll start to stain the cheese after about 15-20 minutes, so you’ll want to be able to pop those roses right on top, the moment they’re done. Also, make sure to buy prosciutto that is separated by wax paper or plastic. Otherwise, they’ll be too difficult to separate.

3. Wash the beet slices once they’re cut.

Don’t skip this step, they’ll still taste just as delicious when washed. That beet juice really stains, as you can imagine, and it will quickly turn the cheese pink, which isn’t as pretty as when it’s white. Washing them helps to make them a little less staining, but no less tasty.

4. If you don’t want to use your fingers to eat them…

Simply add toothpicks or co*cktail pins right in the center, and they’ll be so simple to lift and pop right in your mouth!

Help yourself to these other romantic recipes!

• Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon
• How to Make a Bacon Rose Bouquet
• Romantic Valentine’s Day Deviled Eggs
• The Divine Damiana Valentine co*cktail

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