"We ordered some carrots from our farmer, Robbie, and he brought us these monsters that were about 16 times the size we were expecting," says Rory Cowcher. "Because they were so big, we roasted them slowly in the pizza oven. They came out beautifully. I like when the Italians string up chillies and dry them, so I ordered all these chillies, but it took so long to string them that I didn't want to do any more, so I made a fermented chilli sauce instead. The carrots came in and everybody was complaining about the chillies taking up too much room, so one of our favourite dishes was born out of necessity and lack of space."
Roasted carrot salad, pepper sauce, olive oil and curd
A perfect side dish for autumn and winter produce that delivers a pleasantly spicy hit thanks to fermented chilli sauce.
- 40 mins preparation
- 55 mins cooking
- Serves 6
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Ingredients
- 600 gm large heirloom carrots, longer carrots halved lengthways
- 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
- Lemon juice, to season
- 300 gm goat's curd
- ¼ cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Pepper sauce
- 2 red capsicums, split and seeds removed
- 7 large red chillies, seeds removed from half
- 60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil
Caramelised pumpkin seeds
- 15 ml sherry vinegar
- 15 gm caster sugar
- 50 gm pepitas
- ⅛ tsp ground caraway seeds
Method
- 1For pepper sauce, preheat oven to 220°C. Roast capsicum and chillies on oven trays until softened and browned (20-25 minutes). Weigh roasted peppers and add one per cent of the weight in salt (for example, for 450gm roasted peppers, add 4.5gm salt), then blend in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a sterilised jar (see note), add oil and seal. Use immediately or, preferably, leave to ferment at room temperature for 1 week.
- 2For caramelised pumpkin seeds, preheat oven to 160°C. Combine sherry vinegar, sugar and 1 heaped tsp salt in a bowl. Add pepitas, stir to coat thoroughly, then bake on an oven tray lined with baking paper until golden brown (25-30 minutes). Cool, then break up pepitas, add caraway seeds and toss to combine. Store in an airtight container until required.
- 3Increase oven to 220°C. Drizzle carrots with oil, season to taste and roast on a baking tray until tender and golden brown (30-35 minutes). Season to taste with salt and lemon juice.
- 4Fold 50ml water into goat's curd in a bowl, then slowly add extra-virgin olive oil, whisking to emulsify. Divide curd among dishes. Toss carrots in a bowl with 125ml pepper sauce (remainder will keep refrigerated for several months), parsley and pumpkin seeds. Top curd with carrot mixture and drizzle with olive oil to serve.
Notes
To sterilise jars and lids, run them through the hot rinse cycle in a dishwasher, or wash them in hot soapy water, rinse well, place on a tray in a cold oven and heat at 120°C for 30 minutes.
