Baked Jerusalem Artichokes, Breadcrumbs Thyme and Lemon

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

285ml / ½ pint double cream or créme fraiche
Juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 good handful of fresh Thyme, leaves picked and chopped
3 handfuls of grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1kg/2lb 3oz Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and sliced as thick as a pencil
2 good handfuls of fresh breadcrumbs
Olive oil

How to make Baked Jerusalem Artichokes, Breadcrumbs Thyme and Lemon

Preheat your oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas7. In a bowl mix your cream, lemon juice , garlic half the thyme and most of the Parmesan, and season well to taste. Throw in the sliced Jerusalem artichokes. Mix well and place everything in an ovenproof baking dish. Mix the breadcrumbs with the rest of the thyme and Parmesan and some salt and pepper. Sprinkle all the flavoured breadcrumbs over the artichokes and drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake in the oven for around 30 minutes until the artichokes are tender and the breadcrumbs golden.

Favourite winter salad (halloumi, pomegranate and anchovy dressing)

(serves four)

ingredients

• ½ a clove of garlic, peeled
• 3 anchovies
• 200ml crème fraîche
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ½ a small loaf of rustic bread
• 2 lugs of olive oil
• 4 little gem lettuce
• 2 handfuls of watercress
• 1 fennel bulb
• 250g halloumi cheese, cut into 12 slices
• 1 pomegranate

method 

For the dressing, pound together or finely chop the garlic and anchovies. Mix in the crème fraîche, then the zest and juice of the lemon, and season to taste with freshly ground black pepper. Simple!

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Tear the bread into rough pieces of about an inch or so and scatter into a roasting tin. Drizzle the bread with a little olive oil then toss with a good pinch of sea salt and bake for 10 minutes or until crunchy.

Trim the bottoms of the little gems then break up each one, keeping the leaves whole. Give the watercress and lettuce leaves a quick wash, then dry in a salad spinner and lay on a large serving plate. Cut the top off the fennel and hang on to the feathery parts. Trim the bottom of the bulb and discard the scruffy outer leaves. Cut the bulb in half and slice as thinly as possible from the root to the tip, then add to the rest of the leaves. Next, fry the slices of halloumi on both sides in a little olive oil until golden, then drain on kitchen paper. Add the halloumi and croutons to the serving plate. Season, give the whole lot a gentle toss, then drizzle over the crème fraîche dressing. Chop the fennel tops and bash the pomegranate to get the seeds out, then scatter the fennel and seeds over the salad.