Читать книгу A Long and Messy Business - Rowley Leigh - Страница 37

STEAMED BEETROOT AND TURNIPS WITH BELUGA

LENTILS, PICKLED GARLIC AND LEMON

I used red, golden and candy stripe (a.k.a. Chioggia) on this

occasion, but all good beets may apply. Pickled garlic can

be bought, though you can easily pickle your own, as below.

Enough for six.

1kg (2lb 4oz) mixed beetroot

(with leaves if possible)

200g (7oz) small turnips

200g (7oz) black beluga

lentils, green if not available

1 red chilli

a few sprigs of thyme

2 bay leaves

2 lemons, plus extra juice

for seasoning

olive oil, for seasoning

30g (1oz) golden caster sugar

200–300g (7–10½oz) beet

tops or purple sprouting

broccoli

sea salt

1 red chilli, deseeded and

sliced into very thin rings,

to garnish

FOR THE PICKLED

GARLIC

30 garlic cloves, peeled

2 tablespoons sea salt

250ml (9fl oz) cider vinegar

100g (3½oz) golden caster

sugar

½ cinnamon stick

10 cloves

First, pickle the garlic. Sprinkle the garlic with the salt and

leave for 4 hours. Bring all the other ingredients to the boil

in a saucepan, then simmer for 10 minutes. Rinse the garlic

and pour over the pickling juice. Bottle in a clean 500ml

(18fl oz) jar and refrigerate, ideally for 2 weeks. Pickled

garlic should last a year in the fridge.

Wash the beetroot and turnips well, cutting off any

stalks and leaves. Half-fill the bottom of a steamer with

boiling water and place the vegetables in the top with

a sprinkling of sea salt. Steam gently for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, rinse the lentils in cold water, then bring

to a simmer in a pan with fresh cold water. Add the chilli,

thyme and bay leaves and, without seasoning at this

juncture, continue to simmer very gently without letting

the lentils dry out. Once tender, remove from the heat and

dress with sea salt, lemon juice and olive oil.

Peel the lemons, paring off the zest without any pith.

Cut this zest into very fine matchsticks and place in a

small pan of cold water. Bring to the boil, then drain and

refresh in cold water. In another pan, dissolve the sugar in

100ml (31⁄2fl oz) water over a low heat, then add the lemon

zest and simmer slowly until glossy and translucent. Lift

out the zest and reserve.

Rub the cooked beetroot and turnips with kitchen

paper to remove the skins, then cut them into segments.

Put the beet tops or broccoli in the steamer, with the

beetroot and turnips on top just long enough to wilt them.

Place the lentils in a serving dish and arrange the

steamer’s contents on top. Slice 3 or 4 pickled garlic as

thinly as possible and sprinkle over. Add some very thin

rings of chilli, lemon juice, sea salt and olive oil to taste.

WINE: Despite the vibrant flavours, it is the rich earthy

taste of the beets that will win through. A full-bodied white

with a little oak treatment will work very well – nothing

like a glass of Meursault in the depths of February.

55

February