For years, Sydney’s Bentley restaurant was the go-to destination for vegan and vegetarian diners looking for something more exciting than the proverbial mushroom risotto. Chef Brent Savage, who credits his vegetarian wife with giving him an insight into the challenges of finding great vegetarian food in Sydney, demonstrated just how delicious and interesting vegetarian dishes could be.

In 2013 he opened vegetarian bistro Yellow in Potts Point, Sydney, to great acclaim. At the time, he said: “I was excited about the opportunity to collaborate with my growers to showcase vegetables as the star on the plate – rather than playing second fiddle to a piece of protein.”

And so, as the world celebrates Meat Free Day, Savage shares some of the restaurant’s most popular dishes that are impressive and easy to make at home.

Raw radish with buttermilk and fennel

(serves 6)

1 bunch baby breakfast radishes (best quality available)

1 bunch baby Japanese turnips

150ml buttermilk

30g fennel seeds

1 star anise

20 ml olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Pre heat the oven to 160C.

Place the fennel seeds and star anise on a small baking tray and roast for five minutes. Keep a teaspoon of the fennel seeds aside to garnish the final dish.

Place the toasted seeds into a small saucepan and add buttermilk. Keep on a low heat for 30 minutes. Pass the buttermilk through a fine sieve and allow to cool.

Remove the larger leaves from the radish and turnips. Use a small knife to clean the shoulder of each vegetable and then wash in ice water. Remove from the water and place onto paper towel. Allow to dry.

Dress the vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Pour the buttermilk into a shallow bowl and then add the radishes and turnips. Garnish with the toasted fennel seeds.

Salted carrot, quinoa and kale from chef Brent Savage at Sydney’s Yellow restaurant. Photograph: Yellow restaurant

Salted carrot, quinoa and kale

(serves 6)

Carrot Sauce

1 L carrot juice

3 pieces shallots

3 cloves garlic

1 bay leaf

15g ginger

3 pieces of cardamom

7 pieces of all spice (also known as pimenta)

4g black peppercorns

5g coriander seeds

3 cloves

7g cumin

¾ tsp harissa

3g xantana

20ml olive oil

Place carrot juice, shallots, garlic, bay leaf, ginger, cardamom, all spice, black peppercorns, coriander seeds, cloves and cumin into a pot.

Bring to the boil then turn heat down to simmer. Reduce the liquid by half. Strain the liquid through a sieve and discard the solids.

Using a stick blender, combine the liquid with olive oil, xantana and harissa until smooth. Season with salt and allow to cool. Set aside.

Quinoa

200g quinoa

2 eschallots (finely diced)

1 clove of garlic

20ml olive oil

1 L vegetable stock

Place a wide base pan on medium heat, then sweat the eschallots and garlic in the oil. Next add quinoa and stir through the eschallots.

Add the vegetable stock to cover the quinoa and continue to cook until the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is cooked. Keep warm ready to serve.

Salted carrot

10 purple heirloom carrots

20g salt

50g butter

Pre heat oven at 180c.

Slice carrots thinly. Lay in a tray in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and leave to cure for two hours.

Layer the thinly sliced carrot into one stack and trim the edges to form a neat rectangle. Skewer each end of the stack to keep in place.

Pan sear each side for one and a half minutes.

Baste with butter and cook in the oven for three minutes.

Take out of the oven, remove the skewers and keep warm.

Garnish

1 bunch purple kale

20ml olive oil

Lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Trim the outer leaves and sauté the remaining leaves in olive oil for 30 seconds. Dress with lemon juice, salt and pepper.



Plating

Spoon the quinoa onto a bowl plate making sure that it forms the same shape as the carrot stack. Place the carrot stack on top of the quinoa and add kale over the top. Pour the carrot sauce over the top.



Mexican cucumbers with basil from chef Brent Savage at Sydney’s Yellow restaurant. Photograph: Yellow Restaurant

Salted melon cucumbers with basil

(serves 6 as a shared dish)

Cucumbers

20 melon cucumbers

Murray River sea salt (2 % of total weight of cucumbers)

1 lebanese cucumber (juiced)

10ml lemon juice

Wash the cucumbers. Mix the salt and cucumber juice together and pour over melon cucumbers. Cover and keep in fridge for 48 hours.

Remove the cucumber from juice / salt mixture. Cut half of the cucumbers for plating and leave the rest whole.

Halve the juice / salt mixture. Add lemon juice to one of the portions and dress the cucumbers.

Basil Oil



1 bunch basil

100ml vegetable oil

Blanch the basil in boiling water and refresh in ice water. Strain the basil and squeeze the excess liquid out. Place in an upright blender with the olive oil until smooth, and set side for one hour to infuse. Pass through fine sieve.

Plating



20 basil flowers

20 basil leaves (tiny)

Put all cucumbers in a bowl. Drizzle the basil oil over the top and finish with basil flowers and basil leaves.