Salt-baked beets and spuds with aioli recipe

There’s nothing better for a lazy chef than to put food in the oven and step back while it does all the work. This dish is a perfect example, and full of flavours inspired by Spanish and southern French cuisine. It is also full of colour – especially if you use different colours of beetroot and potatoes. You will need to soak the cashews overnight to make the aioli.

Serves 4
1.5kg coarse sea salt
750g fresh beetroot, preferably red, yellow and Chioggia varieties
750g potatoes, preferably pink and purple
Advertisement

For the aioli
1 pinch of saffron threads (about 20)
200g raw cashews, soaked overnight and rinsed
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or the juice of ½ lemon
2 or 3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 Set the oven to 200C/400F/gas 6. Spread half of the salt over the base of a baking tin. Pierce each potato and beetroot a couple of times with a fork. Arrange them on the tray and cover with the remaining salt. Bake in the oven for about 1 hour, or until tender.

2 While the vegetables are cooking, make the aioli. Put the saffron threads in a cup and pour over 2-3 tbsp boiling water. Leave it to steep for 5-7 minutes.

3 Meanwhile, drain the cashews then blitz with the vinegar, 1 tsp salt, the saffron water (remove the threads), an additional 150ml water and the garlic cloves, and blitz until very smooth.

4 When the vegetables are cooked, shake off the excess salt and slice in two, then serve with the aioli, accompanied, if you wish, with a fresh green salad.

Comments

Annabel Crabb's passionfruit curd meringue cake recipe

This is a cake that looks handsome on the plate. There are effectively six layers, but because the meringue-topped sponges are baked together, the assembly is simpler than it sounds. The passionfruit curd recipe makes about 320g (1 cup), which is plenty to fill the cake. But do consider doubling it; passionfruit curd is a good thing to have in the fridge. Passionfruit curd meringue cake serves 8 125g unsalted butter, softened 330g caster sugar 4 large eggs, separated 70g Greek-style yoghurt 1 tsp vanilla paste 150g plain flour 25g cornflour 1½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp cream of tartar 125ml thickened (whipping) cream Icing sugar, to decorate – optional Passionfruit curd 55g caster sugar 2 eggs, plus 1 yolk extra 60g unsalted butter, cubed Pulp and juice from 4 passionfruit, strained 1 tbsp lemon juice Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line two 20cm springform or loose-bottomed cake tins. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and 110g of the caster su...

Soba noodles with prawns, herbs and passion fruit vinaigrette recipe

A pile (or pint) of pink prawns is as British as cricket, but for the purposes of this dish, I think king prawns have more of a wow factor. Serves two. 80ml groundnut oil 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed 12 sustainably sourced raw king prawns, shelled but with their tails left intact (or 36 raw British prawns) 1 tsp ground turmeric Salt 170g soba noodles 2 tsp coriander seeds, lightly toasted and gently crushed 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped 7 passion fruit, pulp strained through a sieve to make 60ml juice 2 limes, juiced, to make 4 tsp 2 tsp fish sauce 1 tsp soft dark brown sugar 15g coriander leaves 10g mint leaves, roughly torn 1 tsp black sesame seeds (or white), toasted Heat 60ml oil in a medium saute pan on a high flame. Add the garlic, prawns, turmeric and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt. Fry for a minute or two, until the prawns turn pink, then tip into a large bowl and leave to cool. They’ll finish off cooking in the residual heat...

Anna Jones’s late summer sweetcorn and tomato curry recipe

My summer was far too short and I’m not ready to let go just yet. I’m wishing with everything I have for another few weeks of sunshine, dinners outside, feet on grass, iced coffees. I don’t yet feel the lure of crisp autumn leaves, knitwear and bowls of soup ... it will come, I know, but for now I’m hell‑bent on keeping summer going as long as I can. So, this week I am doing all I can to encourage an Indian summer, throwing the final spoils of warm weather into a quick curry with some soft chapatis. My kitchen is still cheerful with bowls of tomatoes, citrus, squash and ears of corn. Late corn, less sweet than its earlier renditions, still in paper husks, is all the better for a gentle braise with some spice and a few tomatoes, easy chapati breads as a sidekick, which are even quite meditative to make. Late summer sweetcorn and tomato curry (main picture) Serves 4 4 eggs Coconut or olive oil 2 tsp cumin seeds 1 tbsp black mustard seeds 2 tsp fennel seeds 1 onion, peeled a...

I Love Food Recipes

Search This Blog