FOOD: Baked celeriac and potatoes with honey, cinnamon and thyme.

Serves 4-6

– 1 small celeriac, about 650g, peeled

– 1kg Dutch cream potatoes, peeled

– 100g butter

– 1 tsp honey

– ¼ tsp cinnamon

– 1 tbsp thyme leaves

– 1 tsp salt

– butter for greasing pan

Cut the celeriac and potatoes into about two-millimetre-thick slices. This is easiest with a mandolin, but if using a knife, just slice the vegetables as thinly as you can.

Melt together the butter and honey, and add the cinnamon and thyme leaves. Set aside.

Toss the potato slices in the butter. Take out about one-third of the potatoes and keep them aside, then toss the celeriac slices in the bowl with the remaining potato slices and sprinkle with salt.

Grease a five-centimetre-deep, 30-centimetre cast-iron frying pan with butter and cover the base with a circle of baking paper cut to fit.

Using half of the reserved potato slices, layer them over the base of the frying pan in overlapping, concentric circles.

Layer all the celeriac and potato slices into the pan and top them with the last of the reserved potato slices. Place a circle of baking paper over the potatoes and cover the pan with foil.

Bake at 210ºC for 30 minutes, then increase the temperature to 240ºC and uncover the pan for 15 minutes until the top has coloured and the excess moisture has evaporated.

Let the dish cool for 10 minutes before loosening the edges with a spatula. Place a chopping board on top of the frying pan then pick up the frying pan and chopping board together and flip them, so that the frying pan can be lifted away, leaving the vegetable tart on the chopping board. Cut the cake into wedges. They can be served right away or reheated later, which also helps to crisp the edges.

This is delicious accompanied by a sharply dressed salad of bitter greens and herbs.

Wine pairing:

2016 Ocean Eight pinot gris, Mornington Peninsula ($35)

– Mark Williamson, wine buyer for Cumulus Inc, Cumulus Up and the Builders Arms Hotel