We asked our Culinary Director, Chef Derek Hunt, to share a highlighted dish from our Fall/Winter 2023 Menus.

This dish highlights the seasonal spectacle of fall carrots, capturing their depth of flavor and natural sweetness. In preparing the carrot in multiple ways, we create a symphony of flavors. It is a fun example of how using ingredients at their peak can help us exercise our craft to elevate dishes for our clients.

Ingredients

• Baby Heirloom Carrots
• Carrot juice
• Vinegar, Rice Wine, Unseasoned
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Sachet (pro tip: A sachet is a cloth packet filled with spices to impart flavor in a broth or braise.)
• Bay Leaf
• Black Peppercorns
• Carrot Tops, Washed, Spun
• Parsley
• Chervil
• Pumpkin Seeds
• Avocado, Cleaned
• Lemon Oil
• Garlic Oil
• Olive Oil
• Pistachios
• Marigold Flower Petals

Method

1. Boil carrots with a sachet in carrot juice until tender, remove the sachet and purée.
2. For the carrot gastrique, add the ingredients, bring to a boil, then dehydrate overnight at 160 degrees C.
3. For the carrot top pesto, clean carrot tops, pick stems and wash well. Blanch carrot tops, parsley & chervil in boiling water for 10 seconds and shock in ice water. Drain excess water well. Bling in a food processor well, season with salt and pepper.
4. Add all the ingredients together into a spice grinder and blitz until coarsely chopped, season with salt and lay out overnight to dry.
5. Shave baby carrots and place in ice water to allow them to curl overnight. Drain.

To assemble:

1. Place carrot purée in the bottom of a bowl.
2. Next, add a poached whole baby carrot to the bowl.
3. Add 1 Tbsp of carrot top pesto.
4. Drain the shaved carrot and top with a few curly shavings of carrot, then add 1 Tbsp carrot gastrique.
5. Garnish with 1 tsp crushed pistachio and marigold flower petals.