Name: Pickled beetroot and heirloom carrot salad
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 160 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 200 gm small green lentils (1 cup); 2 tbsp olive oil; 4 golden shallots, thinly sliced; 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 1 tbsp cumin seeds; Pinch of caster sugar, or to taste; 1 bunch Dutch carrots, scrubbed; ½ cup (firmly packed) each flat-leaf parsley and dill; For drizzling: extra-virgin olive oil; To serve: blood-plum vinegar(see note); Labne; 1 tsp each cumin seeds and caraway seeds; 250 gm thick Greek-style yoghurt; 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; Pinch of caster sugar; Pickled beetroot; 4 large beetroot (about 150gm each), scrubbed; 500 ml white wine vinegar (2 cups); 220 gm caster sugar (1 cup); 1 cinnamon quill; 1 star anise; 1 fresh bay leaf; 3 cloves

Pickled beetroot and heirloom carrot salad

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for pickled beetroot and heirloom carrot salad.

Serves 4

Prep

40M

Cook

Total

2H 40M

“Would you please request Alex Kearns’s recipe for the pickled beetroot and heirloom carrot salad at Sydney’s Neutral Bay Bar & Dining?”

Jenny Lennox, Pymble, NSW

To request a recipe, write to Fare Exchange, , GPO Box 4088, Sydney, NSW 2001, or email us. All requests should include the restaurant’s name and address or business card, as well as your name and address.

You’ll need to begin this recipe a day ahead

Ingredients

200 gm small green lentils (1 cup)

2 tbsp olive oil

4 golden shallots, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 tbsp cumin seeds

Pinch of caster sugar, or to taste

1 bunch Dutch carrots, scrubbed

½ cup (firmly packed) each flat-leaf parsley and dill

For drizzling: extra-virgin olive oil

To serve: blood-plum vinegar(see note)

Labne

1 tsp each cumin seeds and caraway seeds

250 gm thick Greek-style yoghurt

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Pinch of caster sugar

Pickled beetroot

4 large beetroot (about 150gm each), scrubbed

500 ml white wine vinegar (2 cups)

220 gm caster sugar (1 cup)

1 cinnamon quill

1 star anise

1 fresh bay leaf

3 cloves

Method

Main

1.For labne, dry-roast seeds until fragrant (30 seconds). Combine with remaining ingredients, transfer to a fine sieve lined with muslin and refrigerate to drain overnight (discard liquid).

2.Meanwhile, for pickled beetroot, combine ingredients and 1 litre water in a saucepan over medium heat and stir to combine. Bring to the simmer, reduce heat to low and simmer until beetroot are tender (1-1½ hours). Remove from liquid (reserve liquid), cool, then peel. Cut into wedges and return to cooking liquid until required.

3. Meanwhile, combine lentils in a saucepan with enough cold water to cover generously, bring to the boil, then drain and return to saucepan. Cover with cold water and simmer over low heat until just tender (12-15 minutes), then drain (reserve 80ml cooking liquid) and transfer to a bowl.

4.Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat, add shallot, garlic and cumin, sauté until tender (5-6 minutes), then add to lentils with reserved cooking liquid, add a pinch of sugar to taste, season to taste and set aside.

5.Cook carrots in a saucepan of boiling salted water until tender (3-4 minutes), drain, refresh and drain again. Combine in a bowl with oil and sugar to taste, season to taste and set aside.

6.Scatter lentil mixture, carrots and beetroot wedges over a serving platter, then scatter with herbs and labne. Drizzle with blood-plum vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil, season to taste and serve.

Blood-plum vinegar is available from select delicatessens. If it’s unavailable, substitute a good-quality sherry vinegar.
This recipe is from the December 2011 issue of
.
Notes

The Gourmet Traveller Team

Gourmet Traveller is Australia’s trusted authority on food, travel and luxury lifestyle, bringing the latest news and trends to life through quality journalism, enticing recipes and evocative photography. For more than 55 years, it has been inspiring and informing Australians with the best in cooking, dining, travelling and shopping. Our critics bring the expertise of years of critical eating, drinking and writing to the table. Plus, as the country’s leading title in the luxury sector, Gourmet Traveller works closely with Australia’s leaders in the travel and hospitality industries to give our readers exclusive access. The Gourmet Traveller legacy is one of trust, prestige and relevance.

Styling by Alice Storey

Styling by Lynsey Fryers-Hedrick