Inspired by food on your doorstep

As many vegetables fade away at this time of year there are a few that start to come into their own and it is just to great to know that they are an inspiration for some of our local cuisine.

It was time to dig up the Jerusalem Artichokes and the Head Chef, Keiron Ash, from The Sheppey Inn wanted in on the action.

Melv cut the stems back and used the fork to unearth the roots and we all anxiously waited to see the tubers.

Much to our delight, they lit up what was a rather gloomy Saturday afternoon - they were plentiful.

Like a very large bunch of dirty grapes the tubers dangled from the stem.

Melv and Keiron began to harvest the Jerusalem jewels.

There were some real sizeable tubers and they served to inspired the Sheppey staff...

they eagerly continued to collect them, chatting about how they could be served and would appear on the evening's menu.

We harvested just 3 plants and collected well over 7Kg.

They cleaned up a treat, ready for their trip to the Kitchen, where they would be scrubbed for a second time and prepared for roasting. Slightly nutty and savoury, these tubers are like a cross between an artichoke heart and the best potato you've ever had. Fantastic roasted, when they caramelise, or use raw when they have a taste a little like water chestnuts.

Next we headed for the Salsify beds, sown for the Christmas menu, Chef wanted to give them a try, yet to try these we were eager to taste them too.

Keen to get his hands dirty again, Keiron delved down for the long roots, a little like parsnips they produce a large tap root.

Chef reported that they were beautiful when roasted and had a taste like a refined parsnip and true enough when we had a taste later they were delicious.

Not a bad size, considering we were over a month early.

Finally to complete the afternoon's harvest it was time for the Celeriac.

Treated to a bit of sunshine to end the day, it lit up the beautiful rounded roots.

Melv trimmed the stalks and the rich liquorice aroma was released, known for their distinctive aniseed taste, they too are delicious as a roasted vegetable, but often pureed, by the Sheppey, which compliments a variety of meat dishes and other roasted elements such as the artichokes.

Three stunning and often over looked root vegetables, which might not regularly feature on many pub menus, but were to become the stars of the show for Saturday evening at the Sheppey...

From the charcoal grill:
Lamb neck fillet, Godney salsify, artichokes & celeriac, wilted greens with a red wine sauce

Delicious and all ingredients sourced from under a 5 miles radius and all the vegetables from less than 200m away at Godney Aquaponics, harvested minutes earlier - inspirational for sure!!