Wait – carrots are trendy now?

From a cleansing juice to a savoury soufflé, the pantry staple has experienced a resurrection in kitchens around Australia.

A carrot souffle from Pt Leo restaurant in Victoria.
  • Deborah Grunfeld
  • November 2019

No longer just food for rabbits, the humble carrot has been elevated from sidekick to superhero as the most surprising core ingredient of 2019.

The light touch

The ubiquitous orange veggie as a star of haute cuisine? Yes, in the hands of Phil Wood, culinary director of the hatted Pt Leo Restaurant at Victoria’s Mornington Estate, the kitchen staple has becoming a signature dish: Dutch carrot soufflé, dressed in a brown butter and ginger sauce and accessorised with wild scampi roe.
“Carrots are wonderful, packed full of natural sweetness and incredibly versatile,” Phil says. “They really can do anything.”
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Rare tartare

No vegetable is discriminated against, even the less perfect looking ones, at Arimia in Margaret River, Western Australia, where the philosophy is organic, seasonal and delicious. Take this biodynamic carrot tartare with carrot ash emulsion. It’s not always available but when it is, it’s a work of art on a plate.
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The carrot tartare from Arimia in Margaret River, WA.
The biodynamic carrot tartare from Arimia almost looks too good to eat.

Just juice

Move over OJ. With carrots said to combat cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure, orange you glad we didn’t say orange? Orchard St’s Radiant Roots carrot-based tonic is a liquid lunch made to protect, energise and cleanse. (Buy it at their three Sydney stores or online.)
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A bottle of Radiant Roots tonic from Orchard St.
Orchard St's carrot-based Radiant Roots tonic is a great pick-me-up.

So there you have it – three delicious new ways foodies around the country are breathing new life into the humble carrot.

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