Salt-baked celeriac with hazelnut and shiitake sourdough stuffing
2 HOURS 45 MINUTES | SERVES 4 EASY |
celeriac 1 large, scrubbed and trimmed but not peeled
STUFFING dried shiitake mushrooms 50g vegan butter 40g onion 1 large, finely sliced garlic 2 cloves, crushed dates 4, pitted and roughly chopped brown rice miso 1 tbsp red wine vinegar 1 tbsp agave syrup 1 tbsp chives finely chopped to make 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley a small bunch, finely chopped dried sage 1 tbsp hazelnuts 50g, toasted stale sourdough bread 100g (about 4 large slices), cut into 1cm cubes vegetable stock 150ml
HERB RUB flat-leaf parsley a small bunch, finely chopped sage a handful of leaves, finely chopped garlic 1 clove rapeseed oil 3 tbsp
SALT CRUST cornflour 2 tbsp fine sea salt 400g flat-leaf parsley a small bunch, finely chopped sage a large handful of leaves, finely chopped black peppercorns ground to make 1 tbsp aquafaba 100ml (aka the water drained from 2 x 400g tins of chickpeas) • To make the stuffing, put the shiitakes into a small bowl and pour over enough justboiled water to cover. Leave for 30 minutes, then drain and finely chop.
• Heat the butter in a frying pan and gently cook the onion and garlic for 10 minutes until softened but not browned. Add the chopped shiitakes, dates and brown rice miso, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the vinegar and agave syrup, stir and cook for another minute before removing from the heat. Stir the herbs and toasted hazelnuts through the onion mixture. Tip into a large bowl with the chopped sourdough and stir through. Add the vegetable stock and season.
• Slice a cap off the top of the celeriac no more than 3cm deep. Using a sharp knife or a melon baller, scoop a hole into the centre of the celeriac, around 5cm wide, all the way to the bottom, but not through the skin (freeze the scooped-out celeriac to make stock later). Fill the hole with some of the stuffing and cover with the cap.
• To make the herb rub, whizz all the ingredients in a small blender or food processor. Using a pastry brush, cover the whole of the outside of the celeriac with the rub.
• Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. To make the salt crust, put all the ingredients, except for the aquafaba, in a bowl. Add the aquafaba, little by little, mixing after each addition. The texture of the crust should be like wet sand. On a baking tray, put a layer of the salt crust wide enough to sit the celeriac on. Put on the celeriac, then paste the remaining salt crust around the celeriac, making sure the whole thing is covered and sealed. Put in the oven and bake for 2 hours. • In the final half an hour of baking, put the remaining stuffing in a ceramic baking dish and put in the oven until crisp and golden brown on top.
• Remove the stuffing and celeriac from the oven. Test the celeriac by inserting a skewer through the salt crust. It should be very soft inside – if it still feels firm, return to the oven for a further 30 minutes.
• Allow the celeriac to rest for 15 minutes, then serve by cracking open the crust with the handle of a knife. Slice or scoop out the soft celeriac and serve with extra stuffing.
PER SERVING 501 KCALS | FAT 25.7G SATURATES 3.1G | CARBS 51.2G | SUGARS 16.3G FIBRE 7.9G | PROTEIN 12.2G | SALT 2.6G