Roasted salsify with toasted walnuts and a lemony tahini dressing

6 Mar 2019

Have you ever tried salsify? We know it quite well in Austria but it's not as common elsewhere, though it was hugely popular in the Victorian era in the UK as well. Now it's making a bit of a comeback again luckily! It's really delicious when you roast or cook it and it's really easy to prepare. I heard many descriptions of its taste, some say it's a mix of mild artichoke with a trace of liquorice and others say it has a slight oyster taste. To me it tasted a bit like artichoke mixed with parsnip. If you roast it, it caramelises and you get a lovely sweetness and if you cook or boil it, it has some nice crunch to it which reminds me a bit of bamboo or soft coconut - although that could just be the white colour playing tricks with my mind.

In any case, you should definitely give this vegetable a try.

I added toasted walnuts to this dish as well for protein and extra indulgence and drizzled a lemony tahini dressing on top. Together with some fresh greens this is the perfect winter and spring salad.
You can have it as a starter or even as a main.

Both the salsify and tahini have high iron contents. Even the walnuts pack ample iron content. And then add some greens and you have a iron rich delicious meal.

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Roasted salsify with toasted walnuts and a lemony tahini dressing

The perfect plate! The longer you roast it the more caremelised it becomes. But if you want to go for a less sweet and lower calorie option just steam or boil it, you will love its taste.

This is what salsify looks like - a bit like a hairy root ;-) After you peel it, it looks more like white asparagus. But you need to make sure you place the white salsify into a lemon bath to prevent it from oxidising.

Serve on a bed of greens. You can even add some edible flowers if you like to the extra wow factor.

If you love warm salads, you will enjoy this salsify salad.

Fun fact, salsify is actually pronounced 'salsifee'. Black salsify contains as much potassium as bananas and it’s also rich in protein, iron and copper, so has plenty of health benefits according to the Independent newspaper.

INGREDIENTS (2 starter portions):

Step 1 roast salsify:

1 pack of salsify (350g)
1 lemon
Olive oil
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste

Step 2 toasted walnuts:

Handful of walnuts
Olive oil
Salt to taste

Step 3 lemony tahini sauce:

2 tbsp tahini
10 tbsp water
2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
Salt to taste

Step 4:

Fresh greens (e.g. micro greens)

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METHOD:

Step 1 roast salsify:

Preheat your oven to 200C (390F).

Wash 1 pack of salsify (350g).

Peel the salsify. Immediately after peeling let them rest in lemon water to stop them from going brown, otherwise it oxidises just like an apple or a banana. For that you can use a tupperware dish, add some water and squeeze the juice of half a lemon into it.

Then place the salsify in a large bowl. Drizzle some olive oil over them and add salt and pepper to taste. Cover each evenly.

Place them on a baking tray lined with aluminium foil and bake in the oven between 20-25 min, depending on the thickness of your salsify.

Step 2 toasted walnuts:

Meanwhile add a handful of walnuts to a bowl. Repeat the above step and drizzle some olive oil on them and season with a bit of salt (and pepper if you like). Cover evenly.

Now also add the walnuts to the baking tray in the oven and toast for roughly 7 min. Check on them after 5 minutes, because they can burn quickly.

Step 3 lemony tahini dressing:

While your oven is working hard for you, prepare the lemony tahini dressing.

Add all ingredients from this step to a bowl and mix together until you get a smooth dressing.

When the salsify is done start plating them in a stack on a bed of greens. If you want to go all out you can even add some edible flowers, it will look awesome!

Crush the toasted walnuts with your hands and sprinkle them over the salsify.

Finally smother it with a refreshing lemony tahini dressing. That’s it! Enjoy!

And if you like vegetables like these why not try my grilled asparagus with vegan hollandaise sauce here.