An Original, Classic Recipe from Award-Winning Chef and Food Writer Carsten Kyster

Carsten Kyster, an award-winning Chef, writer, food stylist and consultant recently spoke to us at Lakshmi Art Press. He kindly shared a (fiery!) recipe that was recently in play as part of the Purple Menu at Shades of Greens, Soneva Fushi; a plant-based, fine-dining restaurant which he helped to conceptualize and take off at the Maldivian luxury, barefoot resort, to rich, international accolades.

Carsten Kyster was awarded the Danish Gastronomic Academy's Honorary Award for his cookbook "The Hunt for the Good Taste." Here is a recipe from his Purple Menu:

Fire: Purple menu from Shades of Greens

Photo by Alicia Warner.

(Portobello Mushrooms – Purple Yam blini - Celeriac - Corn

flower - Elderberry juice)

4-6 servings

Components of the dish:

blini

mushroom

yuzu yoghurt

pickled celeriac

blue corn flower*

crispy buckwheat*

micro herbs*

Recipes:

Blini

250 g Purple yam (purple sweet potato)

50 g wheat flour.

1,5 g. Salt

5 g. Baking powder

65 ml Coconut milk

50 ml chickpea water/or water from the purple sweet potatoes

1. Cook purple sweet potatoes until very tender, with the skin on.

2. Peel the skin off and then mash it into a fine mash.

3. Whisk salt, baking powder and coconut milk together

4. Mix it together with potato mash.

5. Whisk the chickpea water until fluffy like egg whites.

6. Mix carefully all together and then fry on a blini pan.

Yuzu yoghurt

1 cup cashews, soaked overnight

1 cup water

3 tbsp yuzu

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp salt

1. Blend all ingredients together in a fast blender until it turns into a fine purée.

2. Leave in the fridge overnight.

3. Seasoning with yuzu and salt.

Can be kept in the fridge for a week.

Fermented Elderberry water

25 g dry elderberry*

200 ml drinking water

1 tbsp. sugar

5 % salt

1. Soak the elderberry in water, sugar and salt.

2. Leave it out in room temperature until it starts to ferment.

3. Pour it into bottles and keep it in the fridge until use.

4. Then blend it with natural oil, 50 - 50.

* can use black- blue berry - or use cordial

Salted/pickled celeriac:

Large portion

200 ml vinegar

100 ml sugar

100 ml water

500 g celeriac

Salt

1. Boil vinegar, sugar and water, add a little salt to taste.

2. Peel celeriac and cut it into blocks of 4x8 cm, then cut it into slices; very

thin on a mandolin.

3. Pour the vinegar over the sliced celeriac, while it is still hot.

4. Let it pickle for at least 2-3 days in cool storage before use.

Will last for 1 month in the fridge.

Portobello mushrooms

400 g Portobello mushrooms

1 lemon

2 cloves garlic

50 ml soya Kikoman

100 ml apple juice

1. Clean the mushrooms, then put them in a baking tray on baking paper.

2. Grated lemon skin on the fine side of the grater. Juice the lemon and

add it to the mushrooms.

3. Chop garlic finely, and add it to the mushrooms with soya and apple

juice

4. Cover the tray with foil. Make sure it is completely covered with foil, then bake it on 150 degrees for 1 hour.

5. Cool it down, store it in a plastic container and grill it before serving.

To serve:

Arrange the blinis on a plate, with some fine slice of mushrooms

and yuzu yoghurt, then place some pickled celeriac on top, and sprinkle

with blue corn flower, buckwheat and herbs.

Served with fermented elderberry water.

* all edible flower can be used, + crispy kernels and all different

kind of micro greens

Photo by Alicia Warner.