Ideal for a wintery feast, the hazelnut oil in this dressing intensifies the nutty taste and moistens the vegetables.
It’s a versatile dressing too – equally delicious over grilled fish or shellfish, or used to dress a simple crab salad or French beans
Ingredients
• 2 beetroot
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4 jerusalem artichokes
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1kg pumpkin
• olive oil, for cooking
For the hazelnut dressing:
• 50g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
• 2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chives, chopped
• 50ml hazelnut oil
• 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar, or to taste
To finish:
• handful watercress sprigs
Method
1 Heat the oven to 180°C. Peel the beetroot, wearing plastic gloves to avoid staining your hands red.
2 Cut into quarters, place in a saucepan and pour on enough water to cover. Add salt and bring to the boil.
3 Simmer for 30 minutes or until the beetroot is about three-quarters cooked. Drain and set aside.
4 Meanwhile, peel the Jerusalem artichokes, cut them in half and immerse in a bowl of cold water with the lemon juice added to stop them discolouring.
5 Peel away the skin from the pumpkin and remove the seeds. Cut into thick moon-shaped slices.
6 Heat a large non-stick ovenproof frying pan (or a cast-iron roasting pan) over a medium-high heat and add a drizzle of olive oil.
7 Place the pumpkin and Jerusalem artichokes in the pan, season with salt and cook for 3–4 minutes, turning to colour. Transfer to the oven and roast for 15 minutes.
8 Cut the beetroot into wedges, add to the pan and cook in the oven for a further 5 minutes.
9 Meanwhile, make the dressing. Combine the chopped hazelnuts, shallots, chives and hazelnut oil in a bowl. Add a splash of sherry vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.
10 Spoon the dressing over the roasted vegetables and scatter over the watercress to serve.
Recipe courtesy of Tom Kitchin, extracted from Kitchin Suppers
