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Celariac terrine with roasted pepper sauce

Over my years as a cookery writer, I’ve found it interesting how readers mention certain recipes over and over again: they just seem to go to their hearts:  This is one of them. The original goes right back to my Vegetarian Four Seasons cookbook, published in 1993, and this is a brand new vegan version that I find just as popular as the original, and beautiful with easy-to-make Red Pepper Sauce

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

  • 700g peeled celeriac, in smallish pieces
  • 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
  • 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 40g cornflour
  • 4 tbsp non-dairy milk
  • 100g white Basmati rice (uncooked weight)
  • 300g ground almonds
  • 4 tbsp dried breadcrumbs

For the red pepper sauce:

  • 4 red peppers, cored and sliced
  • Salt, pepper and a dash of sugar, extra olive oil
  • Thin slices of red pepper, chopped chives and toasted flaked almonds to garnish

Method

Heat the oven to 180C fan, 200F, gas 6. Line a 1kg loaf tin with non-stick paper or a non-stick liner,

Boil the celeriac in water to cover for about 10 minutes, or until tender. Drain very well indeed reserving the water, and blot dry with a clean cloth so it’s extra dry.

Put the rice into a heavy-based saucepan, cover with xxxg water, bring to the boil, then co er and simmer gently until the rice is tender and all the water absorbed. Set aside.

Meanwhile fry the onion and the garlic in 2 tbsp of olive oil, until tender and golden brown, 15 minutes. Add the cornflour, stir, then mix in the milk or cream – the mixture will thicken almost immediately. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Mash the celeriac thoroughly by hand or preferably in a food processor. Mix in the ground almonds and the cornflour mixture, cooked rice, and a good seasoning of salt and pepper.

Sprinkle 2 tbsp dried breadcrumbs into the base of the tin, add the celeriac mixture, filling the tin evenly, smooth the top and scatter with the rest of the dried breadcrumbs, pressing them in lightly, and drizzle with a little olive oil.

Bake uncovered for 50 minutes, or until the terrine feels firm to the touch, looks golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

While the terrine in baking, make the red pepper sauce: put the red peppers into a pan with 300ml of the reserved celeriac cooking water. Simmer over a gentle heat for about 15 minutes, or until the pepper is very tender, then puree with 2 tbsp olive oil, a little salt, and a dash of sugar to taste.

When the terrine is cooked, remove from the oven and leave to stand for 5-10 minutes, then slip a knife around the sides to loosen, turn it out on to a warmed plate, garnish with thin slices of red pepper, chopped chives and toasted flaked almonds Serve with the red pepper sauce. I like it with crunchy golden roast potatoes that you can cook in the oven at the same time as the terrine.

Any left-over terrine is delicious sliced and served with salad at another meal: when it’s cold, vegan mayonnaise, or mango chutney, go well with it.