Roasted Celeriac, Feta & Pomegranate Salad

Free from:

Gluten

Nut

Serves 4-5

Total preparation time = 20-30 minutes

Total cooking time = 50 minutes

Ingredients

For the roasted celeriac

1 medium sized celeriac (650g)
6 garlic cloves, skin on
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 level tbsp coconut oil
Pinch of good quality sea-salt (I like Maldon)
Grind of freshly cracked black pepper

For the base of the salad

700g cooked chickpeas
100g feta, crumbled
1 lemon
Seeds of 1 pomegranate

For the herb dressing

75g pumpkin seeds
2 small garlic cloves, crushed
1 small bag fresh coriander (~30g)
1 small bag fresh basil (~30g)
1 small bag flat-leaf parsley (~30g)
½ tsp sea-salt
200ml extra virgin olive oil

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C
Peel celeriac, wash, quarter and thinly slice. Add to a mixing bowl.
Gently melt the coconut oil in a saucepan on a low heat. Pour over the celeriac, add fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Gently press each garlic clove (x6), skin on, under the palm of your hand to slightly open it and allow the juices and aroma to seep out during cooking. Toss in with the celeriac and mix well by hand. The celeriac should feel well-coated with the coconut oil.
Roast this seasoned celeriac in a baking tray. Cover with foil for 20 minutes to steam and sweeten. Then, discard the foil, gently shake the celeriac to ensure that it is not sticking to the tray, and continue to roast for 30 minutes until golden brown and tender. Allow to cool in the tray. Gently squeeze the roasted garlic out of their skins, discard the skins and add the gooey, delicious flesh to the celeriac.
While the celeriac is cooking, make the herb dressing using a food processor. Add the pumpkin seeds and crushed garlic and blend until a fine ‘breadcrumb’ using the blade attachment. Wash and roughly chop the herbs (including the stalks). Add half to the food processor with half of the olive oil, and quickly blend (for under a minute) until smooth. Turn off, add the salt and remainder of the herbs and olive oil, and then quickly blend again until a smooth pesto-like consistency. Add an extra drizzle of olive oil if you feel that the sauce is slightly dry.
To assemble the salad: in a large bowl, combine the cooked chickpeas, roasted celeriac and garlic, pomegranate seeds, crumbled feta and herb dressing. Just before serving, add the juice of a whole lemon, check that you are happy with the seasoning (add more salt, pepper and/ or lemon juice to your taste) and serve immediately.