Winter Recipe: Celeriac “Lasagne”
Celeriac, Wild Mushroom & Lentil “Lasagne”
This seasonal recipe from the Gladwin Family champions the humble celeriac, a knobbly root vegetable that is often underrated. Oliver Gladwin has created this delicious vegan and gluten free recipe for Veganuary. He uses thin slices of celeriac as the “pasta” sheets and pureed celeriac for a béchamel without dairy or flour.
The dish can be prepared in advance or even frozen until needed.
Ingredients to serve 4
For the Wild mushroom & Lentil Ragù
2 tablespoons Rapeseed Oil
1 Onion, peeled and diced
1 large Carrot, peeled and diced
1 clove of Garlic, crushed
1 sprig of Thyme, chopped
150g Portobello or Chestnut Mushrooms, diced
100g Puy Lentils
40g Dried Wild Mushrooms (soaked in 200ml warm water)
400g Tin Chopped Tomatoes
Salt, Pepper, Soy Sauce and Miso Paste to season
150g Spinach
For the Celeriac “Pasta” and “Bechamel”
2 Celeriac, scrubbed and peeled (keep the trimmings for celeriac stock)
More Rapeseed Oil
1 Onion, quartered
Another clove of Garlic, 2 Bayleaves, a scattering of Peppercorns
½ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
60g Vegan Parmesan
Chopped Chives to garnish
Method
Place a little oil into a heavy based pan over a moderate heat. Fry off the onion, carrot, garlic and thyme until soft.
Add the fresh mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Stir in the lentils, then add the chopped tomato and dried mushrooms together with the water they have been soaked in.
Season the mixture to taste using salt, pepper, soy and miso. Turn down the heat and simmer for 40 minutes until the lentils are cooked and the mixture has reduced and thickened.
Take the pan off the heat, stir in the spinach and allow to cool.
Make a vegetable stock by frying off the celeriac trimmings, onion, garlic, bay and peppercorns. Add 500ml of water, season with salt, nutmeg and onion powder. Simmer over a gentle heat for 30 minutes reducing the volume by a half.
Skim any impurities off the top, sieve out the solids and set the stock aside to make the bechamel.
Slice “sheets/ribbons” from one of the peeled celeriac using a mandolin or a wide mouthed peeler. Blanch these in salted boiling water for 3 minutes. Refresh and chill under the cold tap.
Dice the second peeled celeriac into 2cm cubes. Heat a little more oil in a pan over a moderate heat and fry until the celeriac is lightly golden and tender.
Transfer the diced celeriac into a food processor and blitz whist slowly adding the stock and the vegan parmesan. It will become a smooth, creamy béchamel
Spoon a layer of the ragu into 10cm wide deep sided rings or a casserole dish. Layer celeriac pasta on top then add another layer of ragu and pasta.
Spoon over the béchamel, bake in the oven at 180c for 20 minutes. Garnish with a scattering of chives.
Recipe by Peter Gladwin ©
