Cerfeuil Tubéreux? If, like me, you don’t know what they are then join the club. Me too, until last week when I saw them at the market for a whopping 44€ a kilo.
They look like a mini parsnip. I was intrigued so thought I’d buy a few and give them a go. Back home I looked them up on the internet. Cerfeuil Tubéreux is tuberous rooted Chervil! All clear now…
Apparently, these little root veggies are all the rage with some of the big chefs using them in recipes at the moment. They’re bang in season and have a sweet taste – a little chestnutty in flavour.
So, how to cook them and what to serve them with. After some lengthy research I found a recipe that paired them with scallops. I could see that. The sweetnss of the scallops would match perfectly with the sweetness of a purée of tuberous chervil.
So, I peeled them and poached them in milk before adding a big knob of butter and a little cream before mashing them. I didn’t get out the Nutribullet but that would have given a perfectly smooth more restaurant style texture.
I pan fried some ratte potatoes in goose fat, popped them on the top of the purée then fried off some thin discs of spicy chorizo and spring onions. The scallops had a minute and a half on either side in the same pan and I then plated up.
The chorizo and spring onion addition was essential to provide contrast with the sweeness of the scallops and the purée.
A winner! One to do again if I’m feeling flush and they are in season. This little forgotten vegetable is a little gem.
Here are a few recipe ideas and some more information if you’re interested https://www.princedebretagne.com/en/our-vegetables/turnip-rooted-chervil
