Nigel Slater recipesNigel Slater’s recipes for baked swede and potatoes

Sun 17 Nov 2024 10.30 GMT

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The garden has turned a buttery yellow, the leaves of the fig and medlar, pear and plum, are mostly fallen now. Sweeping them up is a daily job involving a road-sweeper sized broom. A pleasure, actually. Before I pick up the brush, I put a tray of vegetables in the oven – scarlet peppers and fat courgettes, onions in thick segments and maybe an aubergine or two. They will roast, with olive oil, thyme leaves and cumin seeds, until soft and giving, their juices forming an impromptu dressing.

Sometimes, I will add golden raisins or pine kernels, toasted crumbs and crisped garlic or perhaps a trickle of balsamic vinegar or pomegranate molasses. As the days cool, I will introduce a little warmth in the form of harissa paste or smoked paprika, or add garlic, roasted and mashed to a paste and stirred into the juices.

 

I rather think butter is essential with swedes (they need all the help they can get), but use olive oil if you prefer.

 

Serves 4 as a side dish. 

Ready in 90 minutes

 

 

potatoes 500g
swede 500g
garlic 3 cloves
butter 65g or oil
grain mustard 2 heaped tsp
thyme leaves 2 tsp
vegetable stock 150ml

 

Peel or scrub the potatoes as you wish, then cut them into very thin slices. If you have mandolin then use that. Peel the swede and slice it as thinly as you can. Put both potato and swede slices into water to stop them browning.

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Peel and thinly slice the garlic. Over a moderate heat, melt the butter in a flameproof dish or sauté pan about 25cm in diameter and, when it starts to bubble, lower the heat and stir in the garlic. Cook for a good 5 minutes, stirring pretty much all the time until it is soft, fragrant and very pale gold. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the mustard and thyme leaves and several grinds of salt and pepper.

Drain the potato and swede slices, then put them into the pan, tossing them over and over in the mustardy butter, so each slice is lightly coated. Pour the stock over the top.

Bake for an hour until the layers of vegetables are completely tender (test with a metal skewer).