Salt-baked celeriac with mustard cream and salmon roe
Serves 4
– 600g fine salt
– 90ml egg white
– 1 celeriac, whole – 30g mustard powder – 175ml cider vinegar – 20g sugar
– salt and pepper – 150ml sour cream – 100ml pouring cream – 80g salmon roe – chopped chives – cracked pepper Mix the salt and the egg whites to make a type of paste. Find a tray that is a snug fit for the celeriac and make a base with the salt. Push the celeriac into the base before forming the rest of the salt around the outside and on top to form an igloo. If the salt doesn’t take at first, you can give the tray five minutes in the oven to set and just patch the holes in the casing with more paste until it is completely sealed. Bake in an oven at 150ºC for three hours then let the celeriac return to room temperature. Smash the dome with a hammer – taking care not to destroy the contents – then remove the celeriac. Peel the skin off using a fine knife and cut into cubes of about two centimetres. For the mustard cream, combine all the ingredients before gently incorporating the creams. Check for further seasoning. To finish, place the cubes of celeriac into four shallow bowls then spoon the mustard cream over each piece. Scatter the salmon roe over the cream and finish with chopped chives and cracked pepper.
Wine pairing:
2016 Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, France ($30) – Mike Bennie, wine and drinks journalist