Ingredients
Garlic oil
3 garlic cloves, halved
200ml vegetable oil
Ras el hanout (makes ½ cup of spice mix)
20g sweet paprika
10g smoked paprika
6g cumin seeds
5g fennel seeds
2 ½ g Aleppo pepper
6 cloves, whole
10g coriander seed
5g black peppercorns
2 ½ g sea salt
5g brown sugar
Celeriac
1 celeriac
1 garlic clove, sliced
3 thyme stalks, picked
2 tbsp ras el hanout
3 tbsp garlic oil
Pinch of sea salt flakes
½ bunch dill, picked
2 tbsp finger lime pearls
Tahini yoghurt
¼ cup tahini paste
1/3 cup iced water
1 garlic clove, minced
1 lemon, juiced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground cumin
½ cup yoghurt
Crisp Ord River chickpeas (prepare day before)
100g dried chickpeas, soaked in water minimum 12 hours
400ml canola oil (for frying)
1 ½ tbsp ras el hanout
Recipe by Adam Wolfers
Photography by Amy Hemmings
Method
1. For garlic oil: Place garlic in a pot with oil and warm until it reaches no higher than 130ºC. Let cook for 1–2 hours until garlic is soft, then strain off garlic.
2. For ras el hanout: Toast spices in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 2–3 minutes, or until they start to pop and jump around. Allow mix to cool, then grind in an upright blender or spice blender, adding salt and sugar at the very end.
3. For celeriac: Pre-heat oven to 200ºC (fan-forced). Place a roasting tray with a rack on top (so circulation of heat doesn’t overcook the base of celeriac) in oven.
4. Wash outside of celeriac well and remove celery stalk (if present). Dry with cloth or absorbent paper.
5. In a mixing bowl, add celeriac, garlic, 3 tbsp garlic oil, 2 tbsp ras el hanout, salt and thyme. Using clean hands, gently massage the ingredients into the celeriac.
6. Place celeriac on wire rack and cook for approx. 1 hour. Check doneness with cake tester – will glide through easily when cooked. Once cooked, set aside to cool.
7. For yoghurt: Add garlic, lemon, salt, cumin and iced water to a food processor bowl.
8. Slowly pour in the tahini to emulsify. Once incorporated, slowly add oil and blend until smooth. Transfer to another bowl and whisk in yoghurt.
9. For crisp Ord River chickpeas: Drain soaked chickpeas into a colander then lay on absorbent paper to remove excess moisture.
10. In a deep, heavy bottom pot, heat the oil to 160ºC – the chickpeas contain water and will cause the oil to rise in the pot.
11. In small batches, carefully spoon chickpeas into the oil and fry until crisp (3–4 minutes). Once fired, remove with a slotted spoon into a bowl and add 1 ½ tbsp ras el hanout spice. Let cool.
12. Pick celeriac into small, 10 cent-size pieces (it should look like picked crab meat). Dress celeriac in half of tahini yoghurt sauce – set aside other half – and dollop mix in centre of a plate.
13. Scatter fried chickpeas onto the dressed celeriac and add picked pieces of dill, carefully placed on top of the chickpeas.
14. Drizzle olive oil on the rim of the dressed celeriac and dust with ras el hanout. Using a teaspoon, carefully scatter finger lime in the gaps, and serve.
Wine Match
Nero d'Avola
Pinot Noir
Grenache
Fiano
Chardonnay