We like to say our new restaurant Culprit is a haven for secondary cuts and the unloved, a place where my friend and business partner Jordan and I can showcase the often overlooked ingredients of our fine country. It’s a philosophy that keeps us stimulated in our new kitchen, hidden above 12 Wyndham St. It also creates memorable experiences for our diners.
A favourite dish since our opening has been our ugly carrot. The idea came when I noticed a hungry chef chowing down on the leftover vegetables from a large stockpot. I had a taste, and it was phenomenal — the carrot had sucked up all the flavour from the stock and though it had lost some of its texture, the softness reminded me of humble home cooking.
I serve this with a dukkah made with pumpkin seeds and a house-smoked yoghurt. I've seen smoked yoghurt at gourmet stores like Sabato and Nosh. It can be quite powerful so I recommend mixing it with a little Greek or unsweetened yoghurt. If you want to have a go at smoking your own yoghurt I recommend Smokai cold smokers, or you could place the yoghurt in a shallow tray and sit it over a container of ice in your regular smoker because, you know, everyone has a smoker at home these days!
For the carrot
| 3 large | Carrots (Main) |
| 1 Tbsp | Olive oil |
| 1 cup | Chicken stock, or duck stock |
| 1 | Chicken carcass, from a roast chook or use bones from a roast duck |
For the dukkah
| 1 cup | Canola oil |
| 50 g | Pumpkin seeds (Main) |
| 1 tsp | Sea salt flakes |
| 5 g | Coriander seeds |
| 5 g | Cumin seeds |
| 5 g | Fennel seeds |
| 20 g | Sesame seeds |
| 10 g | Black sesame seeds |
| 1 tsp | Turmeric |
To serve
| 1 drizzle | Cooking oil |
| 1 pottle | Smoked yoghurt, mixed with a little plain unsweetened yoghurt to serve (see introduction above for more) |
| 1 squeeze | Lemon juice |
| 1 sprinkle | Fresh herbs |
Directions
To prepare the carrots
- Heat oven to 170C.
- Wash the carrots well to remove any dirt. Place in a suitable sized braising dish. Coat with olive oil and season well with salt and black pepper. Pour over the chicken stock and add the bones.
- Bake in the oven for about an hour, or until extremely tender when poked with a knife.
- Allow to cool on the bench until room temperature. Slice in half lengthways.
To make the dukkah
- Heat canola oil over a medium heat. Fry pumpkin seeds until golden brown and slightly puffed. Drain on paper towels and season with the sea salt. Roughly chop and add to a bowl.
- In a pan toast the coriander, cumin and fennel seeds until aromatic and roughly grind in a mortar and pestle. Then combine in the bowl.
- Toast the sesame seeds and place in the bowl. Add the turmeric and combine all together.
- Allow to cool entirely before storing in an airtight container. It will last a few weeks.
To serve
- Heat a pan over medium heat and brown the carrots on both sides in a little cooking oil. If your carrots are particularly large and ugly they may take some time in the oven to get hot all the way through.
- Once hot, place cut side up on a plate and top with dollops of smoked yoghurt and a generous sprinkle of pumpkin seed dukkah.
- Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and some fresh herbs.