Creamed swede with portobello mushrooms and garlicky hazelnuts

Creamed swede with portobello mushrooms and garlicky hazelnuts

Winter

Swede makes a beautiful, yellow, creamy purée that you can serve in all sorts of ways. Here, I treat it a bit like soft polenta. It gets enriched with butter and plenty of aged cheese before being seasoned with flaky salt and lots of black pepper. It would be amazing with some thick slices of rare roast
beef nestled alongside it, but I think I prefer the depth of these dark, crisping-around-the-edges portobello mushrooms. I’ve finished the plate with a scattering of garlicky, sage-y hazelnuts, but you could use walnuts and rosemary, if you preferred.

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 1 SWEDE, PEELED AND CUT INTO 3–4CM (11⁄4–11⁄2IN) DICE
  • 40G (11⁄2OZ) UNSALTED BUTTER
  • 6–8 SAGE LEAVES
  • 30G (1OZ) MATURE CHEDDAR, GRATED
  • 1 TBSP EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
  • 4 LARGE, FIRM MUSHROOMS (SUCH AS PORTOBELLO), THICKLY SLICED
  • 2 GARLIC CLOVES, SLICED
  • 1 HANDFUL OF BLANCHED HAZELNUTS, BASHED
  • FLAKY SEA SALT AND FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER

Method

Place the swede in a pan. Cover with generously salted water, place on a high heat and bring to the simmer. Cook the swede for 35–40 minutes, until tender.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the swede to a blender. Add 30g (1oz)of the butter, a couple of sage leaves and a few tablespoons of cooking water and whiz to a smooth purée. Spoon the swede into a clean pan, stir in the Cheddar and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm.

Place a large frying pan over a high heat and add the olive oil. When it’s hot, add the mushrooms, season them with salt and pepper and cook them for about 6–8 minutes, until you’ve driven off the moisture and they are dark and starting to caramelise. Add the remaining butter, along with the garlic, hazelnuts and remaining sage. Cook, tossing everything around the pan, for about 1–2 minutes, until the garlic is cooked and everything smells wonderful. (If you don’t have a really big pan, cook the mushrooms in a couple of batches.)

Spoon the swede onto warmed plates, top with the mushroom and hazelnut mixture, sprinkle with flaky salt, and serve.

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