Fast braise of leek, potato, swede and carrot

Tam West

My heart used to sink when I arrived home from school to find Dad had left a swede in the back porch. Dinner was going to be my least favourite meal — cold meat and mashed swede! Years later, I have no such issue and enjoy the slightly sweet and a little bit tangy vegetable, which back then I thought was only for the ewe hoggets to eat to get them through a harsh winter. This time of the year, swedes are sweet and not too big, which is a good thing for this recipe. Delicious served with roasted lean lamb and a steamed green vegetable.

Ingredients

1 medium	Leek, white part only (Main)
2 medium	Potatoes, peeled (Main)
1	Swede, about the size of a clenched fist, peeled (Main)
2	Carrots, preferably long and thin, peeled
1 ½ cups	Vegetable stock, or chicken stock
1 Tbsp	Finely chopped parsley
1	Lemon

Directions

1. Prepare the vegetables. Thinly slice the leek, halve the potatoes and thinly slice. Quarter the swede and thinly slice. Slice the carrots on the diagonal, about 5mm thick.
2. Heat a large frying pan with a good fitting lid over a medium-low heat. Add the sliced leek and 1 cup of the stock. Cook for about 2 minutes. Remove lid and add the sliced potato, cover and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
3. Remove lid and add the swede and carrot with the remaining stock. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook until the vegetables are on the point of collapse (any further and you will end up with a dish that you should mash), about 10-15 minutes, but this will depend on how thin your slices are.
4. Scatter in the chopped parsley and squeeze over some lemon juice. (You should have a good amount of syrupy stock surrounding the vegetables to give the dish its own sauce.)

Kathy recommends

I use an electric wok with fitted lid to make this dish and it works a treat, if you have one. Try not to increase the quantity in one cook - this quantity cooks evenly.

More autumn vegetable sides from Kathy

• Cauliflower with warm spices and egg
• Raw vegetable salad with yoghurt dressing