Roasted Jerusalem Artichoke on hummus

A few weeks ago I suggested Jerusalem artichoke soup to our veg box members. This week I’ve been exploring the joy of roasting artichokes. Artichokes have a wonderful texture - when they are raw or lightly cooked, they have a delightful crush. And when they are fully cooked they almost liquefy! The inside of a roasted artichoke is creamy and almost cheesy. You can just roasted them simply with olive oil, salt and pepper and they are delicious. Or you can make your meal a bit more colourful with this autumn veg inspired dish.

Serves 4-6

For the roasted veg:
400g carrots
400g jerusalem artichokes
olive oil
1-2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1-2 teaspoons coriander seeds

For the hummus:
240g drained, cooked chickpeas (Bold Bean Co are really delcious and thoroughly recommended)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons tahini
juice of 1/2 lemon
pinch of salt
clove of garlic, sliced or grated
1 cooked beetroot (optional)

For the drizzle:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 clove garlic, sliced or grated
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon of chilli flakes
Small bunch of landcress

Toasted sunflower seeds (to garnish)

1) Preheat your oven to 220*C (or as hot as it’ll go!) and then prepare your veg. Peel the carrots and slice on the diagonal.

2) You can also peel your Jerusalem artichoke but I don’t bother - you can just cut off some of the skin, if there are areas where it’s hard to get them clean. Slice up the artichokes too.

3) Throw the carrots & artichoke slices, olive oil, cumin and coriander seeds onto a large baking tray and then season well. Mix them all up so the veg is coated and put in the oven to roast for around 30 minutes.

4) Make the hummus. Put all the ingredients (chickpeas, olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, salt, garlic and beetroot if using) into a food processor and whizz up until it’s smooth (I use a nutribullet). If it’s too thick, drizzle in some ice-cold water until it loosens up. Taste and add more lemon juice and/or salt as necessary.

5) Spread the hummus out on a serving plate or platter, then wash up the food processor.

6) Add the olive oil, cider vinegar, garlic, chilli flakes and honey into the clean food processor (or nutribullet) and blitz to make sure the garlic is not too chunky. Add the landcress and seasoning and blitz again briefly.

7) Taste the drizzle. Add more vinegar, salt, honey or chilli as required. You want it to taste nice and sharp but also a bit spicy and a bit sweet.

8) Once the roasted veg are soft and a wee bit brown around the edges, spoon them over the hummus, then spoon over the landcress drizzle. Garnish with toasted sunflower seeds to serve.