Impress dinner guests with this simple yet timeless artichoke dish and homemade dressing.

Words: Michael Van de Elzen

We regularly cook all kinds of tarte tatin at the cookery school. They’re so simple to make and at the end you’ve created an attractive, tasty dish. This savoury version uses Jerusalem artichokes, but you can use any root vegetable, so long as it’s young and sweet; if they’re too old and woody, they tend to dry and harden during cooking. Beetroot, parsnips, or carrots work well.

To get the best result, you need a large cast-iron frying pan.

Time: 60 minutes
Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

300g Jerusalem artichokes
3 small red onions
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp flaky salt
freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp caster sugar
1 sheet savoury short pastry
handful of torn radicchio leaves
hazelnut dressing, recipe below

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Peel and quarter the onions, and place on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Add the artichokes to a large pot of cold, salted water. Bring to the boil, then turn off the heat and leave them sitting in the hot water for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. Once cool, cut into thick chunks.

Place the sugar in a small heavy-based saucepan on a hot element. Cook until the sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil, stirring continuously. Keep it bubbling until it’s a light caramel colour. Pour the caramel into a 20cm cast-iron frying pan. Lay the artichoke pieces over the top, leaving a 2-3cm gap around the edge.

Cut the pastry sheet to the same size as the pan. Lay the pastry over the artichokes and press the edges down so they touch the bottom of the pan. Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.

Serve with the roasted red onion, radicchio, and hazelnut dressing.

Hazelnut Dressing

INGREDIENTS

1 x 10cm sprig rosemary
pinch flaky sea salt
3 tbsp roasted hazelnuts, whole
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp olive oil

METHOD

Remove the rosemary leaves from the stem, and place in a mortar and pestle. Grind together with the salt.

Place in a bowl with all other ingredients and mix well.

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