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Guest chef Keenan Carroll at Sun and…
A deep knowledge of joints and cuts runs in the family of Keenan Carroll, sous-chef and grillmaster at Sun and... restaurant on Lakeview Road. His father, a physician, is also a keen amateur cook. “I was always asking if I could help him in the kitchen,” says Carroll. “And so I grew up cooking. The family still meets for potluck meals on holidays, and my father bakes his own bread–10 or 12 loaves a week. That’s a habit he got from my grandmother.”
Despite his love of the kitchen, Carroll had no intention of becoming a chef. After leaving school he went to St John’s University in Minnesota to take a business degree. “But whenever I thought about what business I wanted to get involved in, I kept coming back to something involving food.”
So in the spring of 2004 he went to Ottawa and enrolled in the Canadian branch of the world-famous Le Cordon Bleu culinary institute, which first opened its doors in Paris in 1895. Over the next two and a half years he took basic, intermediate and superior cuisine courses and basic and intermediate pastry, “although I haven’t practised any pastry cooking since I left,” he says. “Except for myself, at home, to relax.”
Hot off the grill
Since returning to Nassau, his professional life has revolved around “what comes off the grill–roasts and braised food. Home cooking, really, but with a background in classical French cuisine.” Like many career paths, his evolved by accident. His first job as a junior chef was at Provence restaurant in Sandyport: “It’s a small kitchen there. They put me on the roasting oven, and the grill was right next door. So I was coerced towards it.”
After six months at Provence, Carroll moved to Sun and... to work for “Uncle” Ronnie Deryckere–an internationally known, Belgian-born chef and a distant relative by marriage. “Along with Eric Chauffer, who taught me at Cordon Bleu, he is the biggest influence on me,” says Carroll. “He taught me a lot of his tricks. But we all learn from each other in this kitchen.”
Carroll says there are three basic tips for good grilling: “Get your grill very hot, keep it very clean and make sure it is well greased. Also get familiar with it. The grill is what we call an imperfect cooking instrument, so learn where the hot and cold zones are. Then you can sear or brown meat on the hot areas, and move it to the cooler parts to cook through, where there’s less spitting and soot from the juices dripping down.”
The Sun and... chateaubriand with béarnaise sauce is a luxurious way to perfect your grilling skills. Or try making a delicious crab cake appetizer or a soufflé from the restaurant’s cordon bleu menu.
Lump blue crab cakes
16 oz lump blue crab meat
11/2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup white onion, finely diced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
1/4 cup celery, finely diced
1 egg
1 lime
Worcestershire sauce
Fresh thyme
Fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper
Bread crumbs
Tabasco sauce (optional)
Mix together the mayonnaise, mustard, egg and a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce. Set aside in fridge. Heat some olive oil and sauté the bell pepper, celery and onion until almost tender. Add the leaves from a few sprigs of fresh thyme and a little salt and pepper. Remove from heat and cool completely before adding to the mayonnaise mixture prepared earlier. After pressing all the water out of the crab meat, add it to the herb and mayonnaise mixture. Using a wooden spoon, lightly stir in some fresh chopped parsley, lime juice, tabasco (if using), salt and pepper (to taste) and just enough bread crumbs to hold the mixture together (about two handfuls). Using a small ring mold, (2-21⁄2 in diameter) mold mixture into small cakes. Dust with bread crumbs. Fry in a hot pan with vegetable oil or clarified butter until golden brown, turning once with a flat spatula. Drain excess oil from pan and finish cooking in a preheated 375°F oven for approximately 15 minutes. Place crab cake on a bed of mixed salad greens tossed with your favourite vinaigrette dressing. Add a little tomato salsa, a wedge of lime and sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley. Serves six.
Grilled chateaubriand with béarnaise sauce
16- or 18-oz centre cut of beef tenderloin, trimmed of excess fat and silver skin
Olive oil
Unsalted butter, softened
Salt and pepper
Season the tenderloin with salt, pepper and a little olive oil. Grill over high heat at approximately five-six inches above heat source, making sure the meat is well oiled so as not to stick and taking care to avoid any flare-ups from dripping fat. For medium or “pink” tenderloin, cook for approximately 25 minutes (or until a meat thermometer reads 150-155°F), turning meat every five-six minutes for even cooking. Remove from heat, place a small pat of butter on top and cover with a piece of foil. Allow to rest at least three or four minutes before carving into six or eight even slices. Serve with grilled portobello mushrooms, broccoli and sautéed potatoes and bell peppers. Serves two.
Béarnaise sauce
6 egg yolks
10-12 oz clarified butter
Tarragon
Onion
White wine
Water
White wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Make a tarragon reduction by combining chopped tarragon with a small amount of finely diced onion and cracked black pepper in a pot with enough vinegar and white wine (equal quantities of each) just to cover it. Simmer over medium-low heat until almost all of the liquid is gone. Separate six eggs, placing yolks in a medium stainless steel bowl and reserving the whites. To the yolks add two tbsp white wine, two tbsp water and one tbsp white vinegar. Whisk a few times to combine. Place the bowl over a pot of boiling water to form a steam bath, taking care that the bowl does not touch the water. Whisk the egg mixture continuously at a moderate speed until you achieve a consistency similar to a medium-peak meringue. Remove bowl from heat and gradually whisk in about 10-12 tbsp of clarified butter. Gently warm three-four tbsp of tarragon reduction over low heat and then whisk very slowly into egg mixture until well combined. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Coconut soufflé
2 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 tsp coconut rum
2 tsp coconut flakes
2 oz butter
4 egg whites
Whipped cream (optional)
Butter a 4oz (1/2 cup) ramekin or similar Pyrex dish and set aside in fridge. Make a roux by melting butter in a small pan and mixing in flour until thoroughly incorporated. In a medium saucepan bring milk, sugar and vanilla to a boil. Add the roux into the boiling milk a little at a time, whisking continuously until it begins to thicken. Remove from heat and let cool in a small mixing bowl. Once completely cool, transfer mixture to an electric mixer and beat on low speed. Add egg yolks one at a time while machine is running and mix until all yolks are fully incorporated. This is the soufflé base. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small bowl mix two tbsp of soufflé base with coconut rum and coconut flakes until fully combined. Set aside. Whisk egg whites on high speed in electric mixer until stiff peaks form (this can be done by hand if need be). Very gently fold egg whites into coconut soufflé mixture just to incorporate and put into prepared ramekin. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until soufflé has risen and is golden brown. Serve immediately, with whipped cream if desired. Serves two.
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Guest chef Keenan Carroll at Sun and…
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