Vegan MoFo: Beetroot Prosciutto

I came up with this primarily for sandwiches (tea sandwiches for a vegetarian high tea wedding to be precise). But also as an addition to vegan Caesar and anything else you can think of that calls for prosciutto, or as a friend used to call it : pros-queet-o (she pronounced the "c"). Of course, it still tastes like beetroot, but it has the salty flavour and leathery/chewy texture of it's non veg counterpart. This process can get a little messy with all the beetroot juice, so I used gloves so my hands wouldn't get stained. It would have been more helpful if I had used a mandolin (it's high up there on my shopping list) but a good sharp knife works just as well. I made a fairly big batch, and it keeps well in  a sealed container in oil. 

First I peeled my beetroot, and then cut it into fine slices, as you can see below.

 

I then salted it and left it in a colander in the sink for an hour to "bleed out." 

Hmmm, that sounds a bit gross actually.

 Anyhoo, after that I rinsed the beetroot thoroughly under cold running water, and left it to drain again for half an hour. This is really important, as when you dehydrate foods you should not add salt, or basically, it tastes like salt and nothing else. I guess you could pat it dry instead. I then arranged the slices on the sheets for fruit leather on my dehydrator ( I have a Fowlers one, it's pretty good). Alternatively you could arrange it on baking paper and put it on low in the oven.

 I left the beetroot for about two hours. It should be dry to the touch, but still pliable. (I know, it doesn't look pliable, but it was). I then put them in a bowl with some extra virgin olive oil, and thoroughly coated every slice. I left them overnight, but an hour would probably do the same thing. I tried one to see if it had that saltiness I remember that dead animal prosciutto has, and found I needed a pinch more salt. Taste test yours, as it may not need the salt, depending on the type of beetroot etc. Drain off excess oil before using. It tastes really good in a tea sandwich with fig jam and rocket if I do say so myself!