Puffed winter leek with beetroot-pear coulis, puffed black rice and Scarlet Cress

(For 4 portions)

• 2 pieces of leek
• 100g cooked beetroot
• 1 ripe pear of your choice
• 4 tablespoons of black rice
• bottle of Cornet - smoked
• curry powder - Verstegen
• Iluigi olive oil
• 1 cup of Scarlet Cress - Koppert Cress
• Coarse sea salt - Verstegen

Leek:

• Clean and wash leek. May be placed whole on the fire without flames.
• Slow cooking by turning every now and then. Can take up to 45 minutes.

Coulis:

• Peel the pear and core it. Cut into pieces and gently simmer with a dash of olive oil and moisten with a good dash of the beer.
• When the pear is cooked, mix everything together with the cooked beetroot (without the peel) to form a smooth, thickened sauce.
• Season with little curry powder and sea salt.

Roasting the black rice:

• Cook the rice until tender. Drain and then spread it open on a baking tray. Now let it dry in an oven at 120°C for 2 to 3 hours. Now have a metal slotted spoon and a paper towel ready.
• Now roast the dried rice in a pot with about 3 cm groundnut or rice oil. You can check the temperature of the hot oil by throwing in a grain as a test, if it pops up, you can add all the rice. This happens very quickly. It is ready in a few seconds and you scoop out all the rice grains and put them on the kitchen paper. Season with a little salt. You can also buy puffed rice if this is more convenient.

To finish off:

• Cut large pieces of the leek. Cut it in half and place warm on each plate. Spoon some sauce on the side.
• Finish with the puffed rice, scarlet cress and sprinkle some extra curry powder over the preparation.

Recipe: Frank Fol - The Vegetables Chef®
Photo: Wim Demessemaekers, Photographer | @wim_dmskrs

Preparation time: 45 minutes 
Techniques: veggies 
Plate: Wild White Plate (L)