Introduction
If you’re looking for a more impressing veggie main dish that works for a dinner party, then this is for you! Upon receiving a fantastic selection of veg from the Organic Delivery Company a few things jumped out – celeriac, Jerusalem artichokes and golden beetroot, a match made in heaven!
Despite the number of ingredients, this is a fairly straightforward dish to prepare, as you’re mostly waiting for things to roast in the oven. Roasting is the key here, it really brings the earthy, sweet flavours out of all the vegetables. The Jerusalem artichoke puree tastes creamy and rich, giving the dish a really indulgent feel but there’s no cream in sight!
You may also notice the lack of starchy carbs – butter aside this is not a heavy dish. The parmesan and white truffle garnish really add a bit of wow factor, and help to season the dish and bring all the elements together.
Ingredients
3 golden beetroot
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
½ tsp white miso paste
2 medium celeriac
6 large Jerusalem Artichokes
2 white onions
Around 125 g salted butter
Large bunch sprout leaves
200-300 mL light vegetable stock
½ tsp Truffle Hunter white truffle oil
Wedge of parmesan (at least 100 g)
1 Truffle Hunter White truffle
Method
Preheat the oven to 180 deg C (Fan).
Wash and peel the beetroot, then quarter them into wedges. Toss them in the vegetable oil and miso paste until well covered, then pop them on baking tray and into the oven. Roast these for around 15-20 minutes, whilst preparing the rest of the veg – don’t worry if they start to crisp around the edges!
Peel the celeriac, slice about 2 cm off the top and bottom, then cut the remainder into two large discs. Wash and scrub the artichokes, and slice in half length ways. Remove any loose outer skin from the onions, slice them half stem to root, then trim the roots away, being careful not to cut too far into the onion (see picture). Season the cut side of the onions well with salt.
In a large frying pan, heat 100 g of the butter on a medium heat until it starts to foam. Fry the veg in the butter – 5 min on each side for the celeriac, the onions and artichokes can just be left alone cut side down, they don’t need turning. If your pan is oven safe, put the whole thing in the oven. If not, pop all the veg on a roasting tray along with the butter, keeping the onions and artichokes cut side down. Roast for around 30 minutes, or until the celeriac and artichokes are tender (test it with a cutlery knife).
While they’re roasting, give the head of sprout leaves a good wash, then trim off and keep the leaves, discarding any yellow ones. When you’re getting ready to serve up, cook these in a pan on a medium-low heat with a large knob of butter, for around 6-8 minutes until tender – take care not to burn them! Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.
To make the puree, take the roasted artichokes out of the oven and put them straight in a blender. Blend them until smooth, adding enough of the vegetable stock so that they blend easily (around 200-300 mL). Add the truffle oil, and a generous pinch of salt. Reheat the puree in a small pan until its piping hot – but don’t boil it!
To plate up, divide the puree between 4 plates. Place the celeriac fondant on top, with the beetroot and sprout tops around it. Grate loads of parmesan onto the top of the celeriac – don’t be shy with it! Carefully remove the skin from the halved onions, and pop these on the plate too. Finish with a little grated white truffle.
Note – you can easily make this dish vegan by substituting the butter for rapeseed oil or coconut oil, and omitting the parmesan. It will need a little extra salt on the celeriac to season it properly.
About Stuart Archer (MasterChef Finalist 2016)
Growing up in the South East of England, Stuart’s passion for food came from his parents, both being great cooks who taught him their skills. His move to Sheffield University started his experimentation phase with cooking, some dishes of which he says were unsuccessful, but through trial and error got him to where he is now.
Stuart made it all the way to the finals of MasterChef 2016. Apart from his day job as a research chemist, he now works as a private chef in the South Yorkshire area, bringing restaurant experiences into people’s homes, as well as doing private cooking classes on using classic flavours with a molecular gastronomic twist!