“I suppose every chef that ever worked for Michel Bras has their version or homage to his famous dish ‘The Gargouillou’, comprised of over 50 different vegetables, herbs and flowers, purees, pickles, fruits and French country ham,” says chef Analiese Gregory. “This one incredible dish taught me so much about seasonality, flavour, ingredient combinations, and how truly great dishes transcend food trends and fads.
“This is a very simple salad, loosely inspired by my time at Bras, that basically includes every vegetable we have in the fridge in early summer in Tasmania. An autumn, spring or winter version would be just as great – just different.”
Read more: Five lesser-known vegies that are super healthy
Cashew Miso Cream with Young Vegetables
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1/2 baby romanesco
- 1 baby cucumber
- 1 baby gem lettuce
- 4 (yellow) butter beans
- 2 Paris market carrots
- 2 courgette flowers (if available)
- 2 purple carrots
- 2 hakurei turnips
- 1 baby Chioggia (candy stripe) beetroot and its leaves
- 1 pink turnip
- 6 amaranth leaves (if available)
- 6 blueberries
- 4 purple basil leaves
- 4 shiso leaves (if available)
- 4 Greek basil tips
- Olive oil, to serve
For the cashew miso cream:
- 250g raw cashew nuts
- 220ml water
- 50g chickpea miso or a sweet, nutty brown rice miso
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Read more: Chicken and Cashew Lettuce Wraps
Method
Soak the cashews in cold water for at least two hours or overnight.
Drain, then combine with the water, miso and salt and blend on high speed until smooth. It may take a while.
Clean and slice the vegetables, keeping edible leaves on where possible. All vegetables in this particular salad are raw, sliced thinly or into florets or left whole depending on the vegetable. It’s about taking a whole bunch of beautiful, in-season vegetables and treating them like crudites, dragging them through the cashew dip.
Read more: How to spice up hummus
Dress a plate with the cashew miso cream and arrange the vegetables on top. Dress with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
How Wild Things Are: Cooking, Fishing And Hunting At The Bottom Of The World by Analiese Gregory, photography by Adam Gibson, published by Hardie Grant, available now.
What’s your go-to dish to cook when you need to use up vegies in the fridge? Have you heard of ‘The Gargouillou’ before?
– With PA
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