SWEET & HEAT

INGREDIENTS Serves two as a main or side

For the roasted celeriac:

1 large celeriac, hairy roots discarded and scrubbed clean (900g); 60ml olive oil; 2 spring onions, finely sliced at an angle. To serve; 5g picked Thai basil leaves and flaked sea salt

For the pickled celeriac:

1 medium celeriac, trimmed, peeled and cut into thin, 6cm-long batons (500g); 3 celery sticks, cut into thin; 6cm-long batons (120g); 2 garlic cloves, skin on and crushed with the side of a knife; 3 limes: finely shave the skin to get 6 strips, then juice to get 60ml; 150ml rice vinegar

For the sweet chilli dressing:

120ml sunflower oil; 5 garlic cloves, very finely sliced; 3 red chillies, finely sliced into rounds (30g); 2 whole star anise; 1½ tbsp white or black sesame seeds, or a mixture of both, well toasted; 2½ tbsp maple syrup; 1 tbsp rice vinegar; 60ml soy sauce; 2 tbsp chives, finely chopped

METHOD:

1.

Preheat the oven to 170˚C fan.

Pierce the celeriac with a fork all over about 40 times and place on a parchmentlined baking tray. Mix the oil and one-and-a-half teaspoons of flaked salt, then rub the celeriac with the oil mixture. Roast for two-and-a-quarter hours, or up to two-and-three-quarter hours, depending on the size of your celeriac, basting every 20 minutes or so, until the celeriac is deeply browned, soft all the way through and oozes a caramel.

2. Leave to rest for 15 minutes, then cut into eight wedges, brushing each cut side with the oil

and caramel left on the tray.

3. Combine ingredients for the pickled celeriac with 20g flaked salt in a large bowl and set aside for at least two hours, stirring now and then.

4. Heat the sunflower oil for the sweet chilli dressing in a small saucepan on a medium-high heat. Once very hot, add the garlic, chillies and star anise and fry for two to two-and-a-half minutes, stirring to separate the garlic slices, until the garlic is crisp and pale golden (it will continue to colour after you take it out of the oil, so don’t take it too far). Strain through a sieve set on top of a small heatproof bowl to collect

the oil. Set the fried chilli and garlic aside, to serve. Remove 80ml of the aromatic oil and reserve for another recipe. Combine the remaining 40ml of oil with all the remaining ingredients for the dressing.

5. Preheat the oven to 200˚C fan.

6. Place the roasted celeriac wedges on a parchment-lined baking tray, cut side up. Make sure they’ve been brushed with their cooking oil and celeriac caramel, if not, brush with some olive oil and a little maple syrup or honey. Roast for 20 minutes, or until golden-brown.

7. Arrange the wedges on a platter and sprinkle with a little flaked salt.

8. Add the fried chilli and garlic to the dressing and spoon over and around the celeriac.

9. Top with 200g of the pickled celeriac mixture, avoiding the pickling liquid, garlic and lime skin. Garnish with the spring onions and Thai basil, and serve.