The 2021 Masterchef Winner, Justin Narayan brought his warm spirit to our Culinary Heart showroom kitchen, leaving the audience in awe of the fifth event of the Top Chef Series.
Justin humbly introduced himself to guests as they enjoyed freshly cooked mini spanakopitas and a glass of cold sparkling wine to start the evening.
He then prepared his Cumin Roast Carrots with Pearl Barley followed by his Pulled Slow Roast Lamb Shoulder with Mint Rice. Both dishes offered an unmatchable blend of flavour and spices.
For dessert, Justin served Lemon Curd Chantilly Cream with Macadamia Crumb, a crowd pleaser to close the night.
The audience were inspired by the simplicity of Justin’s cooking and learnt how his heritage influences his culinary style.
Overall, it was an absolute pleasure to host Justin, a true Masterchef and a kind soul. We look forward to having him back in our showroom soon!
Justin Narayan - Cumin Roast Carrots with Pearl Barley
Ingredients
- 16-20 baby carrots
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- Salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 100g rocket
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 cup Pearl Barley
- 200g Greek yogurt
- 100g rocket
- 120g Feta Cheese
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lemon juice
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 220C.
2. Wash and peel carrots and coat in 2 tablespoons olive oil, cumin, pepper, and salt.
3. Roast carrots for 18-20 minutes until nicely charred and can easily be pierced by a knife.
4. To cook the pearl barley, rise until water runs clear, add 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt and simmer for 30 minutes on medium heat until all the water has been absorbed. Set aside and allow it to cool to room temp.
5. Season pearl barley with salt, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Then add carrots and rocket, and mix through.
6. To serve, place a yogurt on the base of a plate, and then top with pearl barley and carrots and crumble your feta over the top.
Enjoy!
Justin Narayan - Pulled Slow Roast Lamb Shoulder with Mint rice
Ingredients
- The Lamb
- Lamb Shoulder 1.5 - 2kg
- 1 can diced tomato
- Fresh coriander
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1.5 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon dry chilli flakes
- 2 teaspoon sea salt flakes
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ lemon juiced
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil
- Mint Rice
- 1 cup Basmati rice
- 1 bunch of mint
- 100g almonds
- ½ lemon juice
Method
1. Place all the ingredients of the marinade in a bowl and mix well. Pour marinade over lamb and massage in and allow to marinate for 2hrs to overnight.
2. In the bottom of the baking tray, add a can of tomatoes and half a can of water. Then place lamb shoulder in the baking tray and tightly cover with baking paper. Cover foil over the baking paper and roast at 160C for 3 hours or until lamb is falling apart.
3. Crack up the oven to 250C, or as hot as your oven goes, and roast uncovered for 15-20mins until nicely caramelised.
4. To serve, shred the lamb using two forks and top with the rich tomato sauce from the bottom of the roasting tray. Then garnish with fresh coriander and flakey sea salt.
For the Mint Rice
1. For the mint rice, wash rice until water runs clear, then drain it. Place in a rice cooker with 2 cups of water until cooked.
2. While rice is cooking on a pan, toast up some almonds until golden brown, then finely chop the mint.
3. Squeeze lemon juice over the rice, and combine all the ingredients together, reserving some almonds and mint to garish.
Justin Narayan - Lemon Curd, Chantilly Cream, Macadamia Crumb
Ingredients
- Lemon Curd
- 100g sugar
- 100ml Lemon juice
- 2 eggs
- 65g Butter
- Chantilly Cream
- 300g Thickened cream
- 2 tablespoons Icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- Macadamia Crumb
- 70g plain flour
- 65g brown sugar
- 125g salted butter
- 125g macadamia nuts
- Pinch of salt
Method
Lemon Curd
1. Place butter and lemon juice in a bain-marie (bowl over a pot of water simmering, making sure the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water) and melt.
2. In a separate bowl, crack your eggs and add your sugar then whisk.
3. Slowly pour the butter and lemon juice mixture into your eggs a little at a time, making sure the eggs don’t scramble. Once combined, return back to the bain-marie and cook until thickened to the consistency of tomato sauce.
4. Place all the ingredients into a canister of a stick blender. Blitz until you notice the colour become slightly paler, then transfer to a piping bag and reserve in the fridge for later.
Chantilly Cream
1. Place all the ingredients into a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, and whisk until soft peaks. Set aside in a bowl for later.
Macadamia Crumb
1. Preheat the oven to 180 C.
2. Place softened butter, sugar, flour, and salt in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add macadamia nuts and pulse until roughly chopped.
3. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
4. To serve, pipe roughly a tablespoon of lemon curd, and sprinkle with just under a tablespoon of your crud to cover the curd, then place a tablespoon of your cream adjacent to the crumbs and enjoy.
