While the name of this post could be a bit ironic and the inspiration for leading an ass when suspended on a stick, in our culinary arsenal it has just become a weapon of mass destruction. I have currently had a carrot thing going on. Recently, we made carrot-ketchup. On one occasion it was well received, the other, not so much. I actually caught some flack for blending ketchup and carrots as a sauce. Still, I learned from this criticism. Instead of cooking the carrots and ketchup together into a puree, we blended ketchup with garam masala and used it to coat carrots before cooking them sous vide for one hour and forty five minutes at 83 degrees Celsius.
The cooked carrots were then glazed in a saute pan with a knob of butter and the carrot-ketchup and spice juices. The carrots picked up some mahogony coloring and caramelized gently. A splash of water freed the fond from the saute pan and allowed it to evenly coat the carrots. I added a heavy handful of chives to the carrots and we were done. Well, almost. We served these lacquered carrots on a dollop of our date-yuzu relish and gilded the lily with shavings of Benton's aged country ham.
And for just a moment, the dining room was quiet and back in the kitchen we smiled.
