Culprit’s ugly carrot

Ifind that, too often, the aesthetic beauty of food has been taking precedence over flavour: for me this just makes no sense. 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.

At Culprit I’ve refined this idea by cooking large Ohakune carrots in duck stock made from leftover bones from our Peking-inspired roast duck dish. It’s a way to squeeze every ounce of flavour from our ingredients and it’s also great for penny pinching. You could use bones left over from roast chicken and a little chicken stock if you like.

I serve it 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 regular 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.

Ugly carrot Serves 6

3 large carrots 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 cup chicken stock or duck stock Bones from 1 roast chicken or duck

1 Heat oven to 170C.

2 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.

3 Bake in the oven for about an hour, or until extremely tender when poked with a knife.

4 Allow to cool on the bench until room temperature. Slice in half lengthways.

Pumpkin seed dukkah

1 cup canola oil 50g pumpkin seeds 1 tsp sea salt flakes 5g coriander seeds 5g cumin seeds 5g fennel seeds 20g sesame seeds 10g black sesame seeds 1 tsp turmeric

1 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.

2 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.

3 Toast the sesame seeds and place in the bowl. Add the turmeric and combine all together.

4 Allow to cool entirely before storing in an airtight container. It will last a few weeks.

To serve

Cooking oil Smoked yoghurt Lemon juice Fresh herbs

1 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.

2 Once hot, place cut side up on a plate and top with dollops of smoked yoghurt and a generous sprinkle of pumpkin seed dukkah.

3 Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and some fresh herbs.