A hearty, warming dish, great for a chilly evening. This also makes a good vegetarian Sunday lunch dish. Leftovers reheat well if you don’t eat it all in one go. Served with Mustard Mash & Crunchy Walnut Greens this is a real comforting dish…
SERVES 2
- 1 leek
- Oil for frying, e.g. sunflower or light olive
- 6 good-sized sage leaves
- 1 apple
- Half a swede
- 75ml white wine
- 150g spring greens
- 15g parsley
- 400g potatoes
- 25g butter
- Splash of milk
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 25g grated Cheddar cheese
- 50g walnut pieces
- Salt and pepper
- Preheat oven to 200C/gas 5. Cut the leek in half lengthways and finely shred. Pop in a bowl of cold water, swirl and leave to soak for 2 mins so any grit falls to the bottom, then lift out into a colander. Put a pan of water on to boil.
- Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a frying pan. Add the leek and fry very gently for 8–10 mins, stirring now and then until softened. Meanwhile, wash and finely shred the sage leaves. Peel and halve the swede. Using just half the swede, cut lengthways in half again, then crossways into thin slices, about half cm thick.
- Boil the swede slices in the pan of boiling water for 2 mins then drain. Cut the apple into quarters. Core and finely slice. Lightly grease a baking dish with a little oil. Layer the drained swede, apple, leek and sage in the dish, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go. Pour over the wine. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 45 mins.
- While the bake cooks, wash the spring greens and cut out and discard any tough central stalks. Lay the leaves on top of each other, roll them up into a thick cigar shape then finely shred. Wash and shake half the bag of parsley dry and roughly chop the leaves. Peel and chop the potatoes into 2–3cm chunks. Put them in a pan of cold water with a good pinch of salt. Bring up to the boil and cook for 10–12 mins, until soft.
- Drain the potatoes into a colander and leave for 2 mins for the excess water to evaporate, then mash with the butter. Stir in the mustard and season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep to one side, then gently reheat to serve when needed. After 45 mins, remove the foil from the swede bake. Sprinkle over the 25g cheddar cheese.
- Bake for a further 15 mins, until the cheese has melted and the swede is tender (test by inserting a sharp knife). When the bake is about 10 mins from ready, chop the walnuts into small pieces and put them in a frying pan. Heat gently for about 2 mins, stirring often, until lightly toasted.
- Transfer to a plate. Add 1 tbsp oil to the frying pan and throw in the spring greens. Stir fry to wilt them down, about 5 mins. Add a splash of water to help them along if needed. Add the chopped parsley and walnuts, and season to taste. Serve with the bake and mash.