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Chef Johannes Richter’s fine way with humble ingredients

Chef Johannes Richter’s fine way with humble ingredients
Johannes Richter at work, left and right. Centre: Johanna and Johannes Richter. (Photos: Wanda Hennig and supplied)
Tony Jackman
By Tony Jackman
2 Feb 2024
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Chef-owner of The LivingRoom at Summerhill, Johannes Richter, sets a challenge for home cooks to make his dish which celebrates the humble carrot.

All eyes turned towards Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal, in November 2022 when The LivingRoom at Summerhill was chosen as Restaurant of the Year at the annual Eat Out Awards. Johannes and Johanna Richter ran on to the stage to collect it and, in that moment, became nationally famous.

TGIFood’s Durban correspondent, Wanda Hennig, wrote about them and their restaurant here and here. In March, I’ll finally get the chance to visit myself and I’ll be reporting back after the event.

Johannes Richter at work, left and right. Centre: Johanna and Johannes Richter. (Photos: Wanda Hennig and supplied)



In the meantime, chef Johannes has shared with us a recipe that he thinks is a perfect illustration of their approach to food and ingredients. He calls the dish “The ordinary carrot, miso macadamia and mint” and explains succinctly why he chose it.

“The reason I chose to share this dish is that there’s still little emphasis on vegetarian dishes when it comes to sustainability,” he said. “Irrespective of how you source animal protein or fish, sustainability will always be at its prime when expressed through vegetarian food. 

“Additionally, it’s a dish that beautifully highlights our cooking philosophy. Being where we are, there’s little access to luxury ingredients, we also don’t use the likes of tuna, caviar or langoustine because of the impact it has on our oceans.

“Our dishes are generally based on humble, simple ingredients presented at a fine level and I think this dish is a beautiful example of that.”

It’s not overly difficult for a home cook to make, and can be prepared in just 40 minutes.

The ordinary carrot, miso macadamia and mint

(Serves: 4 | Preparation time: 40 min | Difficulty: Medium)

Ingredients 

For the carrot:

For the buttered carrot juice:

1 kg carrots

150 g butter

10 g salt

10 g apple cider vinegar

For the carrot pickle:

2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced on a mandolin

Pinch of salt

To taste: sugar and apple cider vinegar

For the miso macadamia:

150g roasted macadamias

50g sugar

30g miso

For the mint oil:

200g fresh mint

200g neutral oil (e.g. sunflower or rape seed)

For the garnish:

Fresh mint

Method

The buttered carrot juice:

Peel and juice carrots.

Bring the carrot juice to a boil, and blend with the other ingredients into a hot juice.

Only reheat again before serving.

The carrot pickle:

Slice carrots thinly and season to taste – sweet, sour and salty.

Miso macadamia:

Heat a pan to medium heat.

Add the sugar and a tablespoon of water to the pan and caramelise until golden.

Add the miso and macadamia nuts and mix together swiftly, set as a brittle on a sheet of baking paper.

Once hardened, chop the brittle into coarse pieces.

Mint oil:

Blanch the fresh mint and squeeze out all excess water.

Blend blanched mint with the oil and pass through a fine sieve.

To serve (see picture):

Layer the carrot onto the bottom of the plate.

Sprinkle with the miso macadamia-nut brittle.

Garnish with fresh mint.

Decant the carrot juice into a small jug and serve on the side. DM

Johannes and Johanna Richter run The LivingRoom at Summerhill in Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal.

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