Carrot Air with Tangerine Granita

A perfect amuse-bouche with surprising flavors and textures. A flavorful tangerine pulp granita with ultra-light carrot foam (air) and spiced up with cardamom and thyme leaves. Simple, refreshing and most importantly, truly delicious.

This dish was inspired by Chef Ferran Adria’s Carrot Cloud which consists of carrot air, frozen tangerine concentrate, powdered coconut, bitter almond flavoring and curry powder.

Ingredients (6 servings)

- 1 l (34 oz) fresh carrot juice

- 3 cups fresh tangerine juice

- 5 g soy lecithin

- fresh thyme leaves

- cardamom powder

Preparation

Tangerine Granita

1- Place the tangerine juice in a container with wide mouth so you can easily access the juice with a syringe after decanting (keep reading, will make more sense later).

2- Refrigerate the tangerine juice in the refrigerator for 24 hours so that the solids have time to settle at the bottom of the container. Container must be undisturbed all this time so place it in a convenient location in the fridge.

3- Carefully remove the container from the refrigerator trying not to disturb the contents.

4- Using a syringe, suck the clearer liquid at the top of the juice. You will end up with a concentrated  tangerine juice containing all the fine pulp from the original juice.

5- Freeze the concentrated tangerine juice in a small flat pan.

6- After a couple of hours, make a slush mashing the frozen tangerine concentrate with a fork.

7- Reserve in the freezer.

Carrot Air

1- Pour juice in a tall and long container.

2- Sprinkle the soy lecithin powder on top.

3- Cover half of the container with plastic wrap (cling film) to prevent juice from spattering all over you and the working area.

4- Blend the soy lecithin using an immersion blender.

5- Store the carrot juice in the fridge until ready for plating.

Assemble and Serve

1- Remove the carrot juice from the fridge and create carrot air by blending the juice positioning an immersion blender sideways and slightly above the surface to introduce air and produce tiny bubbles. Let the carrot air rest for 1 minute before scooping it.

2- Remove the frozen tangerine concentrate from the freezer. Use a fork to make a fine slush again and place a couple of scoops at the bottom of serving vessel.

3- Add a pinch of cardamom and 3 or 4 thyme leaves.

4- Using a slotted spoon, scoop some carrot air and place it on top.

5- Garnish with a few more thyme leaves on top.

6- Serve immediately.