Charred Carrots with Sorghum & Buttermilk

Excerpt from Life of Fire, Pat Martin

Makes 2 to 4 servings 

½ cup whole buttermilk (see Note)

1 pound carrots, peeled and left whole

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons golden sorghum syrup

2 teaspoons fleur de sel or other flaky salt

NOTE: If you can’t find whole buttermilk, add a splash of heavy cream to low-fat (15) or light (1.5%) buttermilk, or use whole milk yogurt as a substitute. You’ll want to use whole (full-fat) buttermilk here, which will thicken into a heavy cream-like texture when you whip it.
Measure out the buttermilk and let it sit at room temperature while you prepare a hot grill (2 to 3 seconds using the Hand Test). Clean and oil the grill grates well.

In a large bowl, combine the carrots, olive oil, sorghum, and fleur de sel and toss until the carrots are well coated. 

Place the carrots on the grill and cook, rotating them in a quarter-turn every couple of minutes, until tender and well charred all over; this will take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the carrots. Transfer to a platter. 

As soon as the carrots are finished, pour the buttermilk into a bowl and use a whisk or electric mixer to beat the buttermilk until it’s thickened to the texture of soft whipped cream. Drizzle the carrots with the whipped buttermilk and serve warm.