3 hours ago
5
There is a skill in not wasting food and it’s all about good, old-fashioned housekeeping. If you learn how to store ingredients properly (cool, dark places are handy for spuds, for example) and keep tabs on what’s in your fridge/freezer, you can use everything up before it goes off – and make delicious things in the process. This golden, cheese-crusted souffle uses up the celeriac and spuds left after the festive season, plus any odds and ends of cheeses. It is spectacularly good, especially paired with a sparkling citrus salad.
Celeriac, onion and cheese souffle (pictured top)
Sweet onions, soft roots and lots of cheese rise into a light, golden souffle with none of the fuss of making a bechamel. Bliss!
Prep 10 min
Cook 1 hr 30 min
Serves 4-6
300g celeriac
200g floury potatoes
Salt
45g butter, plus extra for greasing
1 large red onion, peeled and finely diced
1 small handful fresh thyme leaves
1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated
200g double cream
100g greek yoghurt, or soured cream
250g grated cheese – I use a mix of blueand cheddar
Grated nutmeg
7 eggs, separated
Peel the celeriac and potatoes, then cut them into bite-sized chunks. Put them in a pan filled with 7½cm-10cm salted boiling water, then cook on a high heat for 18-20 minutes, until tender. (Alternatively, if you have leftover cooked potatoes or celeriac, this dish is a lovely way of using them up.)
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan, add the onion and season generously with salt, pepper and the thyme. Sweat, stirring, on a medium heat for 10 minutes, then add the garlic.
Drain the roots, then roughly mash them in the pan set over a low heat. Add the the cream and yoghurt, then mash again. Add three-quarters of the grated cheese and heat gently, stirring well, for a few minutes. Stir in the softened onion mixture and season to taste with more salt and pepper, plus a few generous gratings of nutmeg.
Heat the oven to 210C (190C fan)/410F/gas 6½, then beat the egg yolks into the vegetables. In a large, very clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff and immovable, then, using a large metal spoon, gently fold a third of them into the root mash. Fold the veg mix into the remaining egg whites, taking care not to beat out the air.
Pour the mixture into a large, buttered ovenproof ceramic vessel and bake in the centre of the oven for 40-45 minutes; if the top is threatening to brown too much after 30 minutes, turn down the heat to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Once the souffle has risen and is smelling glorious, serve at once with the citrus salad below.
Honeyed citrus, rocket and pomegranate salad
A refreshing, beautifully coloured salad with contrasting bursts of sweetness from the citrus, honey and peppery leaves.
Prep 25 min
Serves 4
1 blood orange
1 pink grapefruit
½ red onion, peeled and finely diced
100g rocket, washed
2 heads chicory, preferably pink
1 small pomegranate
50g sunflower seeds, toasted
For the dressing
1 heaped tsp honey
1 tbsp good-quality cider vinegar
1 heaped tsp dijon mustard
75ml olive oil
Cut the tops and bottoms off the citrus fruits, then cut away the skin and white pith. Cut the citrus into rounds and cut each round in half, collecting any juices in a small bowl as you go; squeeze the juice out of the skins, too, and add to the bowl.
Whisk the honey, cider vinegar, mustard and oil into the bowl of citrus juice, then season generously and stir in the chopped red onion.
Take the seeds out of the pomegranate (discard the skin and pith), and add any pomegranate juice that escapes to the dressing.
Wash and dry the salad leaves, then arrange them on a large platter or in a bowl. Top with the sliced citrus, half the pomegranate seeds (save the rest for breakfast the next day) and the sunflower seeds, then pour over the dressing and toss gently to coat. Serve alongside the celeriac souffle.
