Bursting with fresh flavour and crunch, Peter Gordon shares the recipe for roast parsnips and celeriac, with smoky apple compote, haloumi and pistachios
“This combination of apple compote, chewy haloumi and sweet roast vegetables is terrific. It is a fairly rich salad but very delicious: it barely lasted until lunchtime when I cooked it for the photo shoot!
This technique of soaking haloumi is a trick I learnt from Tarik and Savas in Istanbul and I’ve never looked back since. It turns a very firm and salty cheese into something more like firm mozzarella.”
Serves 6 as a starter
Ingredients
• 400g (14oz.) haloumi, sliced 1cm (½in.) thick
• 2–3 (500g/1lb. 2oz.) eating apples
• 2 strips orange peel (with no pith)
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 60g (5 tbsp/1/3 cup) sugar
• 2 cloves, roughly bashed
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 600g (1lb. 5oz.) parsnips, peeled, halved and sliced lengthways
• 1 large celeriac (600g/ 1lb. 5oz.), peeled, halved and sliced 5mm (¼in.) thick
• 1 leek, sliced into 1cm (½in.) rings
• 1 tbsp chopped mixed fresh hard herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage)
• 2 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 handfuls salad leaves (I used baby kale)
• 50g (1¾oz./½ cup) toasted and roughly chopped pistachios
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas mark 4).
2 Place the haloumi into a wide bowl or dish and pour on enough boiling water to cover by 3cm (1¼in.). 3 Soak for 1 hour, then drain and pat dry on absorbent kitchen paper.
4 Peel and core the apples, then cut into chunks. Place in a pan with the orange peel, smoked paprika, sugar, cloves, vinegar and ½ teaspoon of salt. Bring to a simmer, then put a lid on and cook until softened, stirring from time to time.
5 Once the apple is cooked, remove the lid and cook over a low heat to reduce the liquid by half. Turn off the heat and leave in a warm place with the lid on.
6 In a roasting dish, mix together the parsnips, celeriac, leek, herbs, coriander seeds and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
7 Roast until golden, about 40 minutes, tossing from time to time.
8 Place a frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Fry half the haloumi until golden on both sides.
9 Transfer to a warm plate and fry the other half in the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
10 To serve, toss the salad leaves with the roast vegetables and lay on a platter. Break the haloumi into pieces if the slices are large and sit on top of the vegetables.
11 Spoon on the apple and cooking juices. Scatter with the pistachios, drizzle on the extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice and sprinkle with a little extra salt.
Recipe courtesy of Peter Gordon
