F
romcoremirepoix
componenttostalwartof
meatandthree-vegdinners,
tosimplesnack,thehumble
carrotis asversatileasit is
universal.Butasgoodasa bunchof
carrotsticksinthelunchboxmightbe,
chefsaroundthecountryarerecasting
thisrootvegetableinnew,excitingroles.
Someoftheseguisesaresubtle– see
thehasselbackcarrotswithmountain
pepperat Sydney’snewlyopenedMary’s
Underground– whileothers,suchas
theDutch-carrotsouffléwithscampi
roeservedbyPhilWoodat PtLeoEstate
ontheMorningtonPeninsula,pushthe
boatouta littlefurther.All demonstrate
thatthecarrotis,more
thanever,deserving
oftopbilling.
“Carrotsaresucha
wonderfulingredient
witha distinctlysweet
flavour:it’snicetodo
somethingwiththem,”
saysWood,whocites
a FernandPointrecipe
foranartichokeCharlotteasthe
inspirationforhissoufflé.“People
arequitesurprisedbyit.It’sgotsuch
a wonderfultexturebecauseit’squite
lightandtheflavoursingsthrough.”
Carrot-as-herosightingsinAustralia
maybepeaking,buttheinterestis part
ofa longer-termtrendofbig-namechefs
exploringtheingredient’spotential.An
earlysignatureat theoriginalNomain
Copenhagen,forexample,wasa dish
ofvintagecarrotandchamomile,built
arounda gnarledheirloomcarrotthat
was pan-roasted for two hours whileChefsarerecasting
thishumbleroot
vegetableinnew
and exciting roles.beingregularlybastedingoat’sbutter.
AtElevenMadisonParkinNewYork,
meanwhile,DanielHummserved
a carrottartare,withwholecarrots
mincedtablesideandplatedwith
a DIYcondimentselection.
A renewedinterestinheirloom
vegetableshasalsohelpedfuelthecarrot
fire.Colourfulandcolourfullynamed
varieties– “atomicred”and“purple
dragon”,say– havecaughttheeye
ofvisually-mindedcooks,butmany
stillplacetheirfaithinthesweetness
oftheclassicDutch-orangevariety.
AtMargaretRivercellar-door
restaurantArimia,EvanHayterserves
a carrot tartare starringchoppedslow-
roastedcarrotsbound
withanemulsionof
carrotjuice,estate
honeyandolive
oil.It’sa dishthat’sas
muchaboutproviding
vegetarianswith
somethingmeatyas
it is celebratingand
supportingthework
oflocalorganicgrower,JemaMcCabe:
manyofthecarrotsusedinthedishare
thinningsanddeformedspecimensshe
wouldotherwisehavetroubleselling.
“Peopleforgethowgoodproduce
canbe,”saysHayter,a bigbelieverin
chefsworkingwithratherthandictating
tofarmers.“Moreandmore,I’mseeing
that’swhatmyroleis about.I want
peopletoknowthatwhentheycome
toArimia,they’regoingtohavethe
bestofwhatcanbefarmed.”
Althoughestate-growningredients
have been a cornerstone of Arimia’s➤Carrotshavetraditionallybeenthestuffofsidedishes
andcrudités,butnowkitchensaroundthecountryare
exploringthecreativepotentialofthishumbleroot
vegetable, writesMAX VEENHUYZEN.
PHOTOGRAPHY CHRIS COURT.
GOURMET TRAVELLER 65