Maple roots & barley upside-down cake

Make sure to use a good-quality stock for this barley dish to add maximum flavour.

SERVES 6-8

PREPARATION TIME 20 minutes, plus cooling and standing COOKING TIME about 1 hour 45 minutes

● 400g carrots

● 400g parsnips

● 3tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra to grease

● 1 onion, finely chopped

● 2 garlic cloves, crushed

● 300g pearl barley

● 10 sage leaves, shredded, plus extra to serve

● 125ml vegan white wine

● 1.3 litres hot, strong vegan vegetable stock

● 1tsp cornflour mixed with 1tsp water

● 150g cooked chestnuts, finely chopped

● Juice 1 orange

● 100ml maple syrup

1 Peel and chop ½ the carrots and parsnips into 1cm pieces. Heat 2tbsp oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Fry onion for 5min until beginning to soften, then add chopped carrots and parsnips and fry for 10-15min, stirring often, until beginning to turn golden. Stir in garlic, pearl barley and sage, fry for 1min, then pour in wine, bring to boil and simmer for 2min.

2 Gradually add stock one ladleful at a time, stirring well after each addition. Only add the next ladleful of stock once the previous has been absorbed. Continue until the barley is cooked and the mixture is creamy, about 25min (you don’t need to stir all the time). When nearly all the liquid has been added, stir in the cornflour. Pour into a large bowl to cool, then stir in the chestnuts.

3 Meanwhile, grease a deep 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin, line base with baking parchment, and put tin on a baking sheet. Preheat oven to 190°C (170°C fan) mark 5. Peel remaining carrots and parsnips, halve lengthways, or into quarters if very thick. Parboil the carrots and parsnips in a large pan of boiling water for 5-8min until just tender, then drain well.

4 In a large frying pan, heat orange juice and maple syrup over a high heat until simmering. Add parboiled carrots and parsnips and fry on all sides until golden – about 5min.

5 With a slotted spoon, transfer carrots and parsnips to base of cake tin. Spoon over barley risotto and press down firmly. Bake for 45-50min until golden and the barley is firm and slightly crispy. Allow cake to stand for 10min (this will help it stick together when you turn it out), then carefully invert on to a serving plate. Heat remaining oil in a small pan, and fry the extra sage leaves until just crisp, drain and use to garnish top of cake before serving hot or at room temperature.