Our friend and colleague Timothy Mawn, who was head chef at the Spitalfields Canteen, came up with this recipe when devising a new non-dairy vegetarian dish for the menu. Spelt grain has a nutty flavour that works really well with sweet butternut squash and aromatic fennel.
Ingredients
- 1 large fennel bulb (about 300 g)
- 500 g butternut squash
- 4 bay leaves
- 4 garlic cloves, left whole and bashed
- ½ lemon juice
- 50 ml olive oil
- salt and black pepper
Spelt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 50 g celery (about 1 large stick), finely diced
- 40 g fennel, finely diced
- 40 g leeks, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 100 g pearled spelt
- 300 ml vegetable stock
Dressing
- 20 g fresh marjoram leaves
- ½ lemon juice
- 4 tbsp olive oil
How to Make It
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cut the fennel into wedges. Peel the butternut squash and remove the seeds, then cut into similar-size wedges. Place the vegetables in a roasting tray. Tuck in the bay leaves and garlic.
- Squeeze the lemon juice over the vegetables and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss the vegetables so they are all are covered with oil. Season with salt.
- Roast for 20–25 minutes until the vegetables are lightly browned and just tender but not mushy.
- Meanwhile, prepare the spelt. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and sweat the celery, fennel, leeks and garlic for about 5 minutes or until soft and translucent. Add the spelt and cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring.
- Pour in the vegetable stock and add a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for 6 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover with a lid and leave for at least an hour, to allow the spelt to absorb the liquid and become tender but still firm.
- To make the dressing, chop the marjoram. Whisk together the marjoram, lemon juice and olive oil in a large bowl. Add seasoning to taste.
- Add the roasted vegetables and spelt to the dressing and toss together. Check the seasoning. Allow to cool slightly before serving warm or at room temperature.
