From Suq to Shuk: Winter pasta - root vegetables in a lemon-cream sauce with mini penne

Delicious! So delicious in fact that I barely noticed that I was catering to my good vegetarian friend Levitz and left out all the meat products. This meal came after a number of days of not eating very much and I wanted something to fill me up. By the time I decided to do all of this, it was dark, the Shuk was closed and I was forced to do my shopping in the supermarket in Dizengoff Centre. The place is a madhouse. Mega Ba'Ir, the supermarket that I occasionally frequent there, actually has a tremendous assortment of produce, meat, dairy products - in short, it's a pretty good supermarket. The great exception to that statement is that the lovely Russian ladies that they've pulled out of retirement to work the registers move at a speed somewhere between a snail and a turtle. For that reason, I spent about 15 minutes perusing the supermarket, and over 20 minutes waiting on line to pay.

The fact that I went out to shop at 6:30 in the evening and only returned by 7:30, meant that we ate late. It didn't really matter, however, as my friend Jordana came over with her boyfriend and we chatted for a good amount of time while I got the food in motion. To chatting eventually turned to a lively though civil argument about secular vs. religious values and communities with all parties expressing their views rather forcefully. Eating commenced and the debate died down. Between the stimulating company and the flavourful food, it was overall a lovely winter evening.

This is a relatively simple dish to make and not overly time consuming. Recommend you make it at home. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

30 g butter

1 Meyer lemon

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 clove of garlic, thinly sliced

2 large parsnips, peeled and diced

1 large celeriac (celery root), peeled and diced

2 sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes), peeled and diced

1 medium Yukon gold potato, peeled and diced

1 medium turnip, peeled and diced

1 zucchini, washed and diced

500ml of 15% cream

1 500g box of mini penne

S+P to taste

1 thai chilli, thinly sliced for garnish

Directions:

Grate Meyer lemon zest and set aside in a small bowl. Juice the lemon in a large bowl and and fill 2/3 with cold water. After peeling, leave all vegetables in the water during prep and immediately return to water after diced. Strain only once ready to add to the pot.

Melt the butter over medium-low heat in a sauce pan and add the meyer lemon zest, garlic and fennel seeds. Allow to sweat for 3 minutes, then add the root vegetables and cream. Mix well and bring to a simmer. Cover and lower the heat in between low and medium-low. Allow to simmer covered for 15-20 minutes or until the root vegetables are al dente (add the zucchini half way through). Add S+P to taste.

Meanwhile boil water and prepare the mini penne according to the directions on the box. When ready, strain, return to the pot and toss with 1 tbls of olive oil to keep from sticking. Transfer too large spoonfuls of pasta to a bowl, add one large spoonful of the sauce then repeat once. Top with chillies and serve immediately. B'Teavon!