Roasted vegetable salad with moghrabieh

• serves

  6

• prep

  40 minutes

• cook

  1:35 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 small celeriac, peeled, cut into batons
• 2 large carrots, peeled, cut into batons
• 2 parsnips, peeled, cut into batons
• 1 kg Jerusalem artichokes, peeled, thinly sliced  
• 1 large beetroot, peeled, cut into wedges
• 7 pickling onions or eschalots, peeled, larger ones halved
• 18 garlic cloves, lightly bruised
• 60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil, plus extra, to serve
• 2 tsp paprika
• 3 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 60 ml (¼ cup) dry white wine
• 2 tsp kecap manis
• 3 oregano sprigs, leaves picked

Spiced moghrabieh

• 4 cloves
• 10 black peppercorns
• 2 cinnamon quills
• 1 lemon, rind peeled into strips
• 2 bay leaves
• ¼ tsp ground turmeric
• 300 g moghrabieh (pearl couscous) (see Note)

Herb dressing  

• ½ small onion, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 70 g (¼ cup) Greek-style yoghurt
• 3 oregano sprigs, leaves picked, chopped
• 1 basil sprig, leaves picked, chopped
• 2 thyme sprigs, leaves picked, chopped
• 3 marjoram sprigs, leaves picked, chopped
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tbsp walnut oil
• 80 ml (⅔ cup) olive oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 210°C. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and fill a large bowl with iced water. Working with each vegetable separately, in 2 batches, blanch celeriac, carrots and parsnips for 6 minutes or until par-cooked. Drain and refresh in iced water. Blanch artichokes for 10 seconds, then refresh in iced water. Blanch beetroot in boiling water for 8 minutes or until par-cooked, then drain and refresh in iced water. Drain vegetables and dry on paper towel.

Toss blanched vegetables, except artichokes, with onions, garlic, 1 tbsp oil, paprika, thyme and ½ tsp salt until combined. Season with pepper. Divide between 2 large roasting pans. Roast vegetables, swapping pans halfway, for 1 hour or until golden and tender.

Meanwhile, to make spiced moghrabieh, place cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, lemon rind and bay leaves in a piece of muslin, gather and secure with string to form a bouquet garni. Bring 1 litre water to the boil in a large pan. Add bouquet garni, 1 tbsp salt and turmeric. Add moghrabieh and cook according to packet instructions, or until al dente. Drain, discard bouquet garni and keep warm.

Transfer roasted vegetables to a clean tray and keep warm. Remove any large burnt bits from pans. Whisk together balsamic, wine and kecap manis in a jug. Pour into hot pans. Stir, then strain back into jug and reserve.

To make herb dressing, process onion, garlic, yoghurt, herbs, mustard, egg yolk and ¼ tsp white pepper in a food processor until smooth. With the motor running, gradually add the walnut oil, then the olive oil, in a thin, steady stream until thick and emulsified. Gradually add reserved balsamic mixture until combined. If the dressing is too thick, add a little water. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

Heat remaining 2 tbsp oil in a frying pan over high heat. Add reserved artichokes and cook for 3 minutes or until golden but still crunchy. Season and stir in oregano.

Toss vegetables with moghrabieh and herb dressing. Transfer to a platter and top with artichokes. Drizzle with extra oil, to serve.

Note

• Moghrabieh (pearl couscous), from delis and specialist food shops, is a large style of couscous.

As seen in Feast Magazine, Issue 14, pg57.

Photography by Sean Fennessy

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.