Japanese White Sweet Potato Poached in Pork Fat, Spiced Wheat Berry Crumbs, Mizuna, Red Leaf Lettuce, Nasturtium, Borage, Calendula, Wood Sorrel, Pork Fat
I've recently adopted, and subsequently become obsessed with, this particular method of tuber and root vegetable cookery. You simply place the vegetables into a glass mason jar that fits them snuggly, fill it with pork or duck fat, cover and bake until tender. I also like to add some warming spices to the jar like clove, star anise, allspice and cinnamon. Cooking in this manner accomplishes a few important things. It deeply infuses the flavor of the fat and spices into the vegetables. It requires a smaller amount of fat which is very economical. It allows the vegetable to be completely cooked through while also maintaining its shape and general integrity.
This is a white Japanese sweet potato, cooked in the manner described above, along with star anise, clove, black pepper, salt and cinnamon. The potato was cooked whole the peeled and sliced. It was rolled in the spiced wheat berries just before being placed on the plate.
I made the spiced berry crumble by milling whole red fife wheat berries with clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, star anise and black pepper. I then made a dough by combining this with butter and needing til smooth and cohesive. I baked the dough until it was set. Once cooled I broke it up into pieces and pulverized it with a muddler.
I finished by simply arranging the leaves and flowers around the sweet potato and sprinkling some sea salt on top.
Product:
Japanese Sweet Potato - Culton Organics
Red Fife Wheat Berries - North Star Orchards
Mizuna - Savoie Organics
Red Leaf - Savoie Organics
Flowers - My Garden
This is a white Japanese sweet potato, cooked in the manner described above, along with star anise, clove, black pepper, salt and cinnamon. The potato was cooked whole the peeled and sliced. It was rolled in the spiced wheat berries just before being placed on the plate.
I made the spiced berry crumble by milling whole red fife wheat berries with clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, star anise and black pepper. I then made a dough by combining this with butter and needing til smooth and cohesive. I baked the dough until it was set. Once cooled I broke it up into pieces and pulverized it with a muddler.
I finished by simply arranging the leaves and flowers around the sweet potato and sprinkling some sea salt on top.
Product:
Japanese Sweet Potato - Culton Organics
Red Fife Wheat Berries - North Star Orchards
Mizuna - Savoie Organics
Red Leaf - Savoie Organics
Flowers - My Garden