Roasted Carrots
Scrub but do not peel, coat heavily with grape seed oil & kosher salt. Roast at 325° F for 25 minutes or until just past al dente.
Fermented Carrots
Slice the smaller carrots thinly and submerge in a brine made of 3% salt and 3% sugar to water ratio. Place in a dark place with ambient temperature about 70° F for a minimum of 7 days, preferably 14 days.
Calamondin Oranges
Submerge oranges in a syrup made of 2:1 ratio water to sugar, 1 cinnamon stick and 2 star anise lightly toasted. Simmer for 30 minutes or until skins have burst. Chill then strain the syrup and reserve for plating. Remove the inner flesh and seeds of the oranges and discard, reserving only the rinds. Slice each rind in 4 pieces.
Black Sesame Puree
- Roast the sesame seeds in the oven at 325° F for 20 minutes then chill.
- Combine everything except oil in a Vitamix blender and puree, using a tamper to agitate.
- Emulsify the oil into the sesame mixture in three stages.
Acorn Sable
Combine the first two ingredients and then all of the dry and mix thoroughly. Roll out between two sheets of parchment paper to ¼ inch thickness. Bake at 325° F for 15 minutes or until set and dry. Cool then grind in the blender to resemble soil.
To Plate
Schmear a good amount of sesame puree on the plate. Warm roasted carrots in the oven and cut into 1 ½ inch pieces and place standing in the puree. Add a few fermented carrots and candied orange rinds. Add the acorn sable soil around the carrots. Garnish with a few pieces of each herb. Mix the orange syrup with a bit of fresh lime juice and a few drops of lemon oil. Spoon a puddle onto the plate.
Credit Chef Jordan Asher
