Gabrielle Hamilton, chef/owner of Prune restaurant in NYC’s fashionable Lower East Side, has a nifty item on this summer’s menu: peas with horseradish and honeycomb. The great thing about Gabrielle’s cooking is the intense flavors. Her chicken leg recipe (forget the breast, dark meat is the richest part of the bird, yeah baby!) includes a entire jar of cornichon pickles — and their juice. With a bottle of hard cider and plenty o’ butter. Heavenly.
One has the best results recreating some sumptuous something or other by giving it a go while the taste is still top of mind. Which is how this recipe for Carrots with Honeycomb and Horseradish came to be.
But how I wonder did I get to be this old and not know that honeycomb melts when you put it on hot food? No worries, old dog, new tricks, never better.
Use real baby carrots, like these beauties from the East Hampton farmers’ market. I’d recommend regular carrots before resorting to those whittled down stubs. And while I’d love to try this with grated fresh horseradish root I couldn’t get my hands on any. Bottled horseradish is just fine.
(à la Gabrielle Hamilton)
1 bunch baby carrots
2 T . horseradish
2 T. honeycomb
2 T. butter
Peel and trim the carrots so that only a small sprout of tops remain.
Steam until crisp-tender, drain under cold running water to stop the cooking. Drain well.
Heat a large pan on medium heat and add the butter. When the butter is melted add the carrots. Roll them around so they are coated in butter. When they are heated through stir in the horseradish.
Pour out the carrots onto a serving platter. Use a spoon to divide the honeycomb in to small bits and drop them onto the hot carrots. The heat will melt the wax in the comb. Serve hot.
