Jessica Kruger: A Carrot & Pear Salad to Brighten Up Any Night

My name is Jessica Kruger and in September 2014 I opened ETHOS - a fast casual dining concept just off Oxford Street, London. Since I became vegan in 2012, I found myself increasingly frustrated with the lack of exciting, interesting options when eating out, and so wanted to launch a meat-free restaurant that gave diners real choice. At ETHOS we strive to create vibrant and deliciously different food, taking inspiration from across the world, and operating a pay-by-weight system giving customers real flexibility on what, and how much, they eat. Of course, to make sure our dishes look and taste as good as they can it’s important that we work around the seasons and this is something the chefs at the restaurant and I are always considering. For the next six months I’ll be sharing some of our favourite recipes in this blog, using a star seasonal ingredient, from the delightfully crisp and crunchy baby gem in the summer to heartier leeks, swedes and turnips in the colder months.

November's star ingredient:

The clocks have gone back, the nights are drawing in and we’re well and truly heading towards winter. But just because the weather is a little gloomy it doesn’t mean dinner has to be! It’s so easy to eat fresh, colourful dishes in summer, but many people don’t realise it’s just as easy when the temperature drops, and sometimes the right dish can provide that little lift that’s needed on a cold, dark night. This recipe for a heritage carrot and pear salad with corn salsa is a perfect November dish. The roasted carrots give a comforting warmth, whilst the in season pear and the corn salsa add colour and a great contrast of flavours. It’s the kind of healthy, yet hearty dishes we will be serving in the restaurant in the coming months. Ingredients For the salad • 1kg heritage carrots • 1 tbsp fennel seeds • 1tbsp chopped fresh coriander • 100ml extra virgin olive oil For the salsa • A handful of sweetcorn • 2 red peppers • 2 sweet ripe pears chopped into eighths • 1 tbsp chopped parsley • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar • 1 tsbp extra virgin olive oil • salt to taste Method 1. Top and tail the carrots then chop into finger sized pieces. If the carrots are small, you can leave them whole 2. Place the chopped carrots in a metal bowl and add the fennel seeds, coriander and olive oil. Mix well and leave for eight hours to marinate 3. Roast the marinated carrots at 200°C for ten minutes 4. To make the salsa, mix all the salsa ingredients together and season to taste 5. Pour carrots into a serving dish and then mix the salsa in to serve I hope you enjoy reading the recipes and please feel free to tweet us any finished dishes, questions or comments to @EthosFoods The idea for ETHOS came about in 2012, when Australian born Jessica became a vegan and, despite her love of trying new foods and eating out, found herself increasingly frustrated with the lack of options available when dining out, especially in comparison to the rest of the world. Seeing a gap in the market, and at just 26 years old, Jessica was inspired to create a new all-day dining experience focused around a meat-free global menu that gives customers real choice in what they eat, how much they eat and how they pick and mix it. ETHOS opened in September 2014 and is a fast-casual dining concept, which focuses on deliciously different meat-free food from around the world, served in a sophisticated and contemporary setting. For more information visit www.ethosfoods.com