Carrot, cumin, crumble

Last year, I devoted myself to no vegetable more intensively than the carrot (second place: beet). Preferably in combination with cumin. A Match Made in Heaven. And after trying numerous variations (carrots cooked in carrot juice, carrots cooked in orange juice, carrots cooked sous-vide – with carrot or orange juice) I thought I had gained a pretty confident handle on the carrot.

A quick glance at Daniel Humm’s book I ♥ New York shatters this illusion in one fell swoop. With the mother of all carrots & cumin recipes. I took advantage of a rainy Sunday to recreate this recipe. And to learn.

The big trick in this recipe is, first, the slow-cooked carrots in the home-raised duck fat. On the other hand, the crumble brings not only a crunchy texture, but also an intense, savory flavor full of duck and carrot that perfectly supports the dish. Only a little time should be brought to the preparation. Wheat goes great as a side dish, which I cooked in a vegetable/poultry stock.

For four people.

Carrot Duck Crumble

1 carrot
1 tsp olive oil
3/4 tsp salt
700 g duck skin (best to pre-order from the poultry dealer)
3 shallots
480 ml rapeseed oil
1/2 tsp Madras curry
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
1 pinch cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 95 degrees. Peel the carrots and shave them into very thin slices on the vegetable slicer. Drizzle lightly with the olive oil, mix and season with a little salt.

Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat and arrange the carrot slices side by side on it.

Bake in the oven for about 1 hour until dry. Remove the carrot chips from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Chop the chips into small pieces.

Cut the duck skin into 4 to 5 cm pieces and then freeze briefly. Put the frozen skin through the meat grinder on a low setting (for lack of a meat blender, I briefly ground the frozen skin pieces in the Thermomix). Mix the ground duck skin with 240 ml of water in a sauté pan and simmer over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes until the water has evaporated. Pour off half of the rendered duck fat and set aside for the carrots. Return the rest to the stove and sauté the duck skin until crispy and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Drain and place on paper towels, cool to room temperature. When cold, finely chop the duck skin.

Carrots fried in duck fat

480 ml rendered duck fat
8 purple carrots (old varieties)
4 cloves of garlic, slightly crushed but still whole
4 sprigs thyme and 2 sprigs rosemary
2 tablespoons butter

Preheat the oven to 130 degrees. Melt the duck fat in a roasting pan, add the carrots and braise in the oven for 2 hours until very soft. Turn every 15 minutes and baste with fat. Pour off 240 ml of duck fat, place the roaster on the stove and continue to roast the carrots, basting them with the remaining duck fat until they brown evenly. Add the garlic, thyme, rosemary and the butter and baste the carrots with it for 7 to 8 minutes, until the butter is browned. Drain the carrots on kitchen paper and add salt.

Cumin oil

25 g cumin
120 ml sunflower oil

Dry roast the cumin in a pan for about 10 minutes, mix it with the oil in a blender, then drain the mixture through a sieve lined with a straining cloth.

Carrot sauce

1l carrot juice (from about 16 large carrots)
120 g mascarpone
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp cumin oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Boil down the carrot juice in a small saucepan to 360 ml for about 30 minutes. Pour the broth through a pointed sieve and put it in the blender. While blender is running, add mascarpone, mustard and cumin oil. Season with lemon juice and salt.

Serve

Place two carrots (halved if necessary) on a preheated plate on top of the carrot sauce and drizzle with a teaspoon of the cumin oil. Spoon two tablespoons of wheat over the center of the carrots, then spread the crumble on top. Decorate with carrot greens.