Hasselback Celeriac, Cheddar and Peanut - Chef Recipe by Dave Verheul

Ingredients

Hasselback celeriac:

2 medium celeriacs
4 garlic cloves, very finely sliced
300 g unsalted butter
60 g rice koji
10 g thyme, leaves only
1 lemon
Pyengana

Pyegana cheddar sauce:

250 g Pyengana cheddar
250 g whey from making ricotta (see page 32)
1 garlic clove, peeled

Peanut pesto:

75 g peanuts, skin on
1/2 garlic clove, peeled
10 g parmesan
100 g peanut oil
5 g thyme, leaves only
10 g stout or sherry vinegar

To finish:

20 g butter

Method

Hasselback celeriac:

Preheat your oven to 180 C.

Using a sharp knife, trim the outer skin from each celeriac, then cut in half. Using a meat slicer or mandolin, slice the celeriac halves crossways 1.5 mm thick. You should have thin semi-circles. Save the unsliced ends for later.

Put all the cut celeriac into a bowl. Put the garlic into a small pot with the butter and warm over a low heat until the butter is liquid. Pour the butter mix onto the celeriac and add the koji and thyme.

Using a microplane, grate in the lemon zest and season well with salt and black pepper. Toss everything so that the marinade is evenly mixed through.

Find a high-sided roasting tin and line the bottom of it with baking paper. Now here’s the fun part: working slice by slice, stack the celeriac so that it all sits in the same direction, i.e. flat side down and semi-circular side up. Arrange these stacks into rows that are supported by the sides of the baking tray, if your row doesn’t make it to the end use the end of the celeriac you saved to hold it up.

Cover the tray with aluminium foil and bake for around 11/2 hours, or until tender when tested with a skewer. Remove the tray and the foil and chill for at least 1 hour so that the form sets.

Pyegana cheddar sauce:

Grate the cheddar using a box grater and combine with the whey and garlic in a small pot.

Warm over a low heat so that the cheese doesn’t scorch and cook for around 30 minutes. You do not want this to simmer at all, just keep a low even heat so that the flavour and fat separate from the cheese curds, which will seize into a solid mass.

Once you have enough flavour, strain off the liquid, discarding the cheese solids and garlic and season to taste with salt.

Peanut pesto:

Using a sharp knife, chop the peanuts through then transfer to a small mixing bowl. Grate the garlic clove and then the Parmesan into the bowl using a microplane. Add the oil and thyme, and season well with salt and black pepper. Give it a good mix. Adjust the seasoning with a little of the stout or vinegar.

To finish:

Preheat your oven to 450 C and place your set Hasselback in a cast-iron pan. Put this into the oven to heat through. Test the inside is hot by inserting a cake-testing pin into the middle then holding it against the back of your hand.

When it is hot inside, add the butter to the pan, return to the oven, and spoon the melted butter over the Hasselback until nicely caramelised. Remove and transfer to a serving dish. Spoon some of the peanut pesto over the top, followed by some of the cheddar sauce.

Credits: This is an edited extract from On Sundays: Long lunches through the seasons by Dave Verheul published by Hardie Grant Books. RRP $55

Photo Credits: Copyright photography © Kristoffer Paulsen 2024