Jerusalem Artichokes, Winter Roots, Smoked Salt
Source: Nigel Slater, Greenfeast: Autumn, Winter
Recipe Type: Entrees | Seasons: Winter
Deep drifts of mash. Toasted, smoky vegetables.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
For the mash:
1 lb 10 oz/750g celery root
9 oz/250g Jerusalem artichokes
¼ cup/50g butter
1 cup/240ml hot vegetable or chicken stock
For the roast roots:
8 carrots, small to medium
2 parsnips
6 cloves garlic
4 beets, small raw
8 sprigs thyme
5 tablespoons/75g butter
3 tablespoons sunflower seeds
2 heaped tablespoons parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons smoked salt
PREPARATION
Set the oven at 425°F/200°C. Peel the celery root and cut into large pieces about the size of roasted potatoes. Put them in a roasting pan. Peel the artichokes, then add them to the roasting pan. Break the butter into small pieces and dot over the vegetables, season with salt, then roast for about an hour until lightly browned. They mustn’t crisp like roast potatoes, but instead develop pale gold, lightly caramelized edges. Test them for softness; a skewer should slide through them with ease. Set aside to cool, and wipe out the roasting pan.
Scrub or peel the carrots as you wish, then cut them in half lengthwise. Do the same with the parsnips, peeling them if their skins are tough (as they often can be) and cutting them in half. Put the carrots and parsnips in the roasting pan. Tuck the garlic cloves, still in their skins, among the carrots. Trim the little beets, cut into quarters, then add to the pan along with the sprigs of thyme and the butter. Season generously, then bake for about an hour. Turn the vegetables over once or twice as they roast.
Tip the roast celery root and artichokes into a food processor, add most of the stock and blend to a smooth purée, introducing more of the stock as necessary. Check the seasoning, adding more salt and pepper as you wish. In a small pan, toast the sunflower seeds over high heat till they smell nutty, then mix with the chopped parsley and smoked salt.
Spoon the mash onto a serving dish, add the roast vegetables, scatter with the seeds and parsley, and serve.
Reprinted with permission from Greenfeast: Autumn, Winter by Nigel Slater, copyright © 2020. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.” Photography copyright: Jonathan Lovekin © 2020.
