Winter Roots and Lemon Roast
I love Nigel Slater. I spent many a December evening listening to the podcast of his Christmas Chronicles -he has such a comforting presence, and a wealth of recipes I want to try. The Festive Season is also the ideal moment to catch a rerun of your favourite chefs’ Holiday programmes, amidst the new ones, and I particularly enjoyed his New Year’s Suppers. Maybe it’s because we both love to take long strolls on a snowy day, or tending to our vegetable garden... Although I have yet to grow Jerusalem artichokes, his Winter Roots and Lemon Roast immediately appealed to me, and when Jules and I foud some of these earthy, knobby jewels at the store, I knew I’d make the recipe this week. I almost changed nothing to it; just added a bit of hazelnut oil for I thought it would compliment the nutty flavour of the artichoke -it did!- and sprinkled with basil instead of parsley! Today is not a very cold day, but it’s a very rainy one, and this hearty, earthy vegetable roast, with a bright spark of lemon seems to be just what one needs!
Ingredients (serves 2):
6 large Jerusalem artichokes
4 medium poatoes
1 tablespoon hazelnut oil
 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon fleur de sel
1/2 teaspoon freshly craked black pepper
1 large lemon
4 large leaves fresh basil
Rinse and thoroughly scrub Jerusalem artichokes and potatoes under cold water. Then, halve Jerusalem artichokes and potatoes, and place them in the basket of a steamer over boiling water. Cover with the lid, and steam, 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200°C/395°F.
Spoon hazelnut oil and olive oil in a large roasting dish. Add Jerusalem artichokes and potatoes and toss well, to coat in oil. Season with fleur de sel and black pepper. Cut the lemon in half, and squeeze the juice of both halves over the root vegetables. Add lemon halves to the roasting dish. Place in the middle of the hot oven, and roast, at 200°C/395°F, 40 to 45 minutes.
Finely chop basil, and sprinkle over the Jerusalem artichokes and potatoes, just out of the oven.Â
Serve Winter Roots and Lemon Roast immediately.
