Broccoli and Oyster Mushroom Tempura with Forced Rhubarb Sauce

Plum sauce and carrot salad can be prepared way ahead. You can store them for months, as long as they are stored in sterilised jars. That way you can make this elegant complex dish in no time. As for rhubarb, the forced variety is more succulent, which is it’s been used by Chef Anton. However, if it’s later in the season, try using the regular type!

As Chef Anton himself says: ‘This dish is a super simple one to make – although I assure you, you will be very proud and happy if you do go the extra mile… And do bring your meat-loving friends over to taste it…they will be blown away! :)’

Courtesy of Anton Petrov

See other recipes by Anton Petrov

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Meal

mains

Servings

Ingredients

Forced rhubarb ketchup

200g forced rhubarb, cut into small chunks
50g ginger
2 banana shallots
50g unrefined sugar, eg dark brown soft
100ml cider vinegar
50ml water
2 pieces star anise
1 stick of cinnamon
1 tbsp ground coriander
½ tsp vanilla extract

Carrot ribbon and glass noodle salad

Pickling liquid

100ml carrot juice
100ml apple juice
50ml cider vinegar
30g ginger, coarsely grated
3 pieces star anise
2 sprigs of tarragon
1tbsp coriander seeds
1tbsp black peppercorns
1tbsp salt

Salad ingredients

500g carrots, peeled and thinly sliced ( with mandolin/peeler)
100g glass noodles, roughly broken and soaked in cold water – drain just before making the salad
A few coriander leaves for garnish

Vegetable tempura batter

150g brown or white rice flour
50g gram flour
50g corn flour
1.5 tsp salt
200ml almond milk
Corn/sunflower/rapeseed oil for frying

Vegetables for the tempura

300g fresh oyster mushrooms
300g purple sprouting broccoli, trimmed

Instructions

Forced rhubarb ketchup

Finely chop the shallots and fry them in the oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed pot on a medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Then add remaining ingredients, mix all together and cover with a lid. Bring to a gentle simmer, take the lid off and let cook for about 10 minutes, until the mixture has thick consistency and most of the liquid on the top has evaporated. Stir every 2-3 minutes, to prevent it from sticking at the bottom – add a small splash of water if it really starts to catch.
Remove the star anise and cinammon. Check the seasoning, and adjust to your taste. You can blend the mix to an even ketchup consistency or leave it as a chunky chutney – whichever you prefer. Set aside to cool down until ready to serve.

Carrot ribbon and glass noodle salad

Make the pickling liquid: place everything in a saucepan, bring it to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, thinly slice the carrots into 2mm thick ribbons, using either a mandolin or a vegetable peeler. Gently fold the carrot ribbons into simmering pickling liquid, take off the heat and leave to infuse for at least 30 minutes.
To assemble the salad, strain the soaked noodles and the ribbons. Mix everything together, tossing in the coriander leaves at the end.

Vegetable tempura

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Prepare one more bowl with almond milk. You will also need an oven tray lined with a kitchen towel. This is to place the cooked tempura after frying – it mops up excess oil.
In a deep frying pan heat up the oil. Check the temperature, by dropping a tiny drop of water or a piece of veg. It should bubble quite vigorously, but without smoking. Then start frying the vegetables in small batches. Dip them into the milk first, then coat them lightly in the flour mix.
Fry the veg in small batches and don’t overload the pan. This is because once the temperature of the oil drops dramatically, the vegetables won’t cook so well and will become heavy and greasy, instead of crunchy and light.
Fry the vegetables until they are a golden colour. Make sure you flip them over to ensure even cooking. Using a slotted spoon, remove the cooked vegetables, letting the oil drip off back into the pan before placing on the tray and paper towel. Repeat the same process until all the veg is cooked. Keep warm.

Once ready to serve, place the ribbon salad in the centre of the plate, scattering a few spoonfuls of rhubarb sauce around. Then place the tempura vegetables on top of the salad. Sprinkle with few leaves of coriander for colour.

Keywords

Mains

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