My new roots

Veg boxes are pretty dull from January to the end of April, often called ‘The Hungry Gap’. I’ve been mucking about with new roots and tubers to add colour and flavour to my cooking.

Oca

Cooking suggestion: roast, boil, fry or eat raw, sliced thinly into salads.
Season: January and February, so they are finished this year but look out for them next year.
Where to get it: Riverford Organics.

Chervil roots

What is it? Wasabi is the real Japanese horseradish. Most wasabi paste is western horseradish or mustard with green food colouring
Taste: The real stuff doesn’t burn, is subtler, with a strong herbal taste.
Health benefits: anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, good for teeth.
Cooking suggestion: Use quickly after grating. Grate onto noodle soup, use in sushi, on top of rice bowls, to garnish things that need a pop of heat like salads or fish.
Season: all year round
Where to get it: The Wasabi Company. They also sell the plants which need a lot of water.

Turmeric

What is it? Turmeric is the fresh root version of the dried spice that you put in curries.  It turns everything bright orange.
Taste: it has a kind of gingery, peppery, bitter taste
Health benefits: contains curcimin which is anti-inflammatory, good for brain disease, depression
Cooking suggestion: grate into curries, soups, salad dressings, yoghurt sauces, smoothies, Indian food
Season: all year round
Where to get it: I buy the roots in Asian shops, Sainsburys stock it, Abel and Cole, Planet Organic, Real Foods.

Salsify

What is it? A long pale root.
Taste: some people say it tastes like oyster. Creamy.
Health benefits: iron, potassium, calcium, manganese, phosphorous, magnesium, copper, as well as vitamins including ascorbic acid, pantothenic acid, thiamine, riboflavin, folate and vitamin B6. Good for hair. Contains inulin which is useful for diabetes.
Cooking suggestion: gratins, roasted, boiled, baked, mashed.
Season: winter
Where to get it:  Natoora.co.uk

Recipes:

Carrot ‘noodles’ with matcha noodles and wasabi dressing

100g matcha soba noodles
3 carrots, spiralised
3 tbsps of pumpkin seeds


For the dressing:
3 tbsps ground nut oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar
juice of half a lemon
1 inch (3 cms) wasabi root, grated
Salt

Cook the soba noodles in a saucepan full of boiling salted water for 2 or 3 minutes then strain into a colander and rinse with cold water.
Spiralise or grate the carrots.
Mix the noodles and carrots together in a bowl and add the pumpkin seeds. You could also top with avocado and chopped spring onion or alfalfa sprouts.
Mix the dressing together and pour over the noodle salad.

Pink salad with oca and chervil roots, turmeric dressing

Here I used a pink lettuce just for fun. It’s nice to switch up ‘eat your greens’ into ‘eat your pinks’. Same health benefits but a prettier colour. Might be a way to get children to eat salad?

Serves 2-4

Pink or green butterleaf head of lettuce is just as good, washed, leaves separated
a handful of chervil roots, scrubbed and sliced thinly
a handful of pink radishes, sliced thinly
a handful of oca, sliced thinly
a handful of pickled white grapes (optional, recipe in V is for Vegan)
a handful of green sultanas
3 tbsps of slithered almonds
A few crushed pink peppercorns

For the dressing:
3 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 small fresh turmeric root, grated
Salt

Toss the salad ingredients together then mix all the dressing ingredients together and drizzle on top.

Salsify Gratin

This is a wonderful side or main dish. I also serve them roasted with butter and a few flecks of salt.

Serves 4

Butter, for greasing
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 kilo (2 pounds approx) salsify roots
600ml single cream
1/2 glass of white wine
sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
100g breadcrumbs
100g parmesan or pecorino, grated

Preheat the oven to 180cº.
Grease a shallow baking dish, long enough to fit the salsify.
Prepare a bowl of boiling water and squeeze in the lemon juice.
Peel the salsify roots and place them into the bowl with the lemon juice.
(This stops them discolouring).
When all the roots are prepared, drain away the water and place the roots in a single layer in the baking dish.
Pour in the cream and white wine and season with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and cheese on top.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the top of the gratin is golden.