Roasted farmgate Winter Vegetables
Recipe by: Ben Dowling from Tulum Store
The best winter veg made delicious with home made garam masala, smoked almond and brown butter.
- Winter, Spring
Garam Masala
- 2 tsp Cumin seeds, 6 Green Cardamom pods, 3 Mace blades, 2 Bay leaves, 2 tsp Black peppercorns, 4 tsp Coriander seeds, 1 Cinnamon stick, 5 Cloves, 3 Star Anise pods, 1 tsp Fennel Seeds.
Vegetables
- 500g Kent Pumpkin cut into wedges approximately 2cm thick
- 500g Jerusalem Artichokes cut in half lengthwise
- 300g Cipollini Onion peeled and cut in half
- Sea salt/Pepper
- 100ml Scorpo Estate Olive oil
Garam masala butter
- ½ cup dates roughly chopped
- 1 shallot thinly sliced
- ¼ (10g) cup curry leaves
- ½ Cup smoked almonds roughly chopped
- 250g salted butter
- 1/4 cup garam masala
- 1 tsp Seeded mustard
- 1 long red chilli (sliced) **optional
- 50ml verjus (1 lemon zest & juice if verjus unavailable)
Garnish
- 1 head radicchio
- 1 bulb fennel
- 1 pomegranate
- 100ml Paringa Estate Verjus
- 50ml Scorpo Estate Olive oil
Garam Masala
Garam masala blends can be sourced from most vendors selling spices however making your own with fresh whole spices results in a much more unique and complex aroma. While the exact spice ratios can be varied, I’ll leave a simple recipe for those who would like to explore making their own.
Spread spices out on a small baking tray and roast at 180 C for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and grind in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle until smooth. Can be stored in an airtight container in the cupboard for up to 3 months however for the best results just make what you need and use immediately.
Vegetables
Preheat oven to 200 C and place a heavy roasting tray inside. Toss the vegetables in extra virgin olive oil (I chose Scorpo estate olive oil produced in Balnarring) and a generous pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Remove hot tray from oven and place the vegetables around the tray leaving space between them to allow an even roast. Return tray to oven and allow to roast for 10-12 minutes until some colour starts to form. Flip each vegetable and continue roasting for a further 10 minutes or until tender and golden.
Brown Butter
While the vegetables roast, add 250g salted butter to a saucepan and cook on medium heat stirring intermittently. Once the water is cooked out of the butter it will begin to foam. This is the time to pay attention. Allow the milk solids to catch on the bottom of the pan and continue to stir them in. Once the butter reaches a dark brown colour, remove from the heat and add the shallots, chilli (optional*), curry leaves, mustard and dates which will prevent the butter from overcooking. Once the pan stops bubbling, add the almonds and garam masala and return to the heat on low for 1-2 minutes stirring frequently. Remove from heat and add the verjus (lemon can be used in substitution of the verjus if not available)
Garnish
Remove fennel fronds, rinse and save for garnish. Cut fennel in half, remove fibrous outer layer and cut out core. Slice as thin as possible and add to a bowl with the fennel fronds. Remove outside darker leaves from radicchio as these can be overly bitter. Slice radicchio into wedges and discard the core. Toss in a bowl with fennel and pomegranate seeds along with 75ml Paringa Estate Verjus and 75ml Scorpo estate olive oil.
Plating
Arrange the vegetables on a large plate or serving platter. Spoon over the brown butter generously and garnish with the dressed fennel, pomegranate and radicchio leaves.