Amsterdam Foodie

The word for salsify in Dutch is a real tongue twister – the sort of word they’d have tested on soldiers during the war to check which side they were on. Schorseneren. It sounds nearly as ugly as it looks. It’s a muddy black tubular root, with wormy little shoots poking out of one end. Altogether more like something from Doctor Who than a vegetable. But here at Foodie HQ we’re not scared by the odd sci-fi vege, even if it does appear to have hit every branch of the ugly tree from which it fell.

Instead, it got summarily washed, peeled, chopped into roast-able pieces and popped in a hot oven along with some fennel and thyme. Given that it’s also known as the oyster plant, I was expecting my salsify to taste a little more, well,  bivalvian. Instead, its closest approximation is a cross between a parsnip and an artichoke heart – maybe. Or maybe it’s just one of those things you have to try for yourself.

It worked well with the fennel, though, and I could imagine serving it with a not-too-delicate white fish and a peppy, lemony sauce. I also think you could turn your salsify into soup and spruce it up with a drizzle of truffle oil. But unfortunately I haven’t actually done any of these things. Sorry. All my culinary creativity seems to be dominated by Hidden Kitchen experiments these days, and meanwhile the salsify season is quickly running out, so I thought I’d better post this sooner rather than later.

If any of you feel inspired to try out one of the suggestions above, or indeed any other salsify experiments, I’d love to hear your comments!