Salt baked vegetables with wild garlic aioli

Serves: 4
Course: Main Course
Cooking Time: 2 hrs 0 mins
Ingredients
  • For the vegetables:
  • 750g tub of salt
  • 1 large carrot
  • 2 beetroot
  • 2 medium potatoes
  • 1 kohlrabi
  • 1 parsnip (or you can use any mixture of root vegetables you like)
  • For the wild garlic purée:
  • 2 handfuls of wild garlic leaves , washed, patted dry and chopped
  • 300ml or so sunflower oil
  • A pinch of caster sugar
  •  
  • For the aioli:
  • 2 free range egg yolks
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
  • ½ tbsp Dijon mustard
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Salt and pepper
  • 250ml sunflower oil
  • 50ml olive oil
  • 1 tbsp crème fraiche
  • 2 tbsp wild garlic purée
  •  
  • Method

1 Set the oven to 130 degrees.

2 Trim the vegetables then scrub them in cold water really well until thoroughly clean. It is important that they aren't too big. If necessary, cut them down to an even size.

3 Pour the salt into a medium sized roasting tray and set the vegetables into the salt, pressing down a little.

4 Bake for two hours then check them. Some will be ready before others, that's just the nature of things. (The beetroot and kohlrabi took an extra hour when I tested the recipe). When the vegetables are tender remove the ones that are cooked then put the others back in until they too are soft.

5 To serve, brush the excess salt from the vegetables and discard. Cut into manageable pieces and serve warm with the aioli.

For the wild garlic purée
1
In a blender, whizz the wild garlic with the oil and sugar. If it is slow to turn just drizzle in a little more oil, until it blends easily.

2 This will keep in the fridge for two weeks. I use it in mashed potatoes and pasta when the mood takes me.

For the aioli
1
Put the egg yolks, garlic, mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper into a blender or food processor. Blend everything together for one minute before starting to drizzle in the sunflower oil in a steady stream so it all becomes incorporated.

2 Drizzle in the olive oil, then fold in the crème fraiche and wild garlic purée. Check for seasoning.

3 Keep in the fridge in a sealed container, a Kilner jar is best if you have one.

Paul Flynn

Paul Flynn

Paul Flynn is a chef, restaurateur and contributor to The Irish Times. He and his wife, Máire, run the Tannery restaurant and cookery school in Dungarvan, Co Waterford