Root Vegetable Pave

The chili. Third consecutive year with the finished recipe. I no longer second-guess the proportions or wonder whether something should change. I make it the way it's written in the notebook and the result is what it is and what it is is right. There's a particular freedom in that — in having arrived somewhere and staying there rather than continuing to move for movement's sake. Most people who cook well keep revising, keep improving. There's nothing wrong with that. But there's also something to be said for finishing.

This year's batch used the home-dried chiles for the second year in a row — the ancho and guajillo from Mom's garden, dried in the barn, ground fine. The quality continues to be noticeably better than commercial. The magazine column generated several questions about sourcing dried chiles and I wrote back a paragraph about growing your own that will probably become a short follow-up piece for a future issue.

Tom Whelan came for the chili dinner, same as last year. He's eighty now — turned in July — and moving more slowly than when I met him six years ago, but still driving himself and still engaged in the specific way he's always been engaged: paying close attention to whatever's in front of him and occasionally saying something precise about it. At dinner he said: The chili is better than last year. I asked what was better. He said: The chile paste. Something in it is fresher. The second year of home-dried chiles confirmed. Tom Whelan's palate doesn't miss things.

Writing the second magazine column. Due in December, for the winter issue. Topic: the elk liver meal, specifically, and what it means to eat something immediately after you've worked hard for it. About the relationship between earned hunger and the taste of food. I know the piece. I just have to get it on the page.

Tom’s comment about the chile paste — that something in it was fresher — was the kind of observation that makes you want to stay exactly where you are rather than push further. The chili is what it is. But the meal around it needs an anchor too, something with the same patience built into it, the same logic of layers coming together quietly over time. The root vegetable pave has become that dish for me: grown from the same garden ground, pressed overnight, finished in a hot pan, and ready when it’s ready — not before.

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes (plus overnight pressing) | Servings: 8

Ingredients

2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick
1 lb parsnips, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick
1 lb celery root, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick
2 medium turnips, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Neutral oil or additional butter for pan-finishing

Instructions

Preheat and prepare pan. Heat oven to 375°F. Line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving several inches of overhang on all sides. Lightly butter the parchment.
Make the seasoned butter. Stir together the melted butter, minced garlic, thyme leaves, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl.
Layer the vegetables. Begin with a single layer of potato slices, slightly overlapping. Brush generously with the seasoned butter. Alternate layers of parsnip, celery root, and turnip, brushing each layer with butter as you go. Repeat, varying the order slightly, until all the vegetables are used and the pan is full.
Add cream and cover. Pour the heavy cream slowly and evenly over the top of the layered vegetables. Fold the parchment overhang over the top to cover, then press down firmly with your hands. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
Bake covered. Place the loaf pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften when pierced through the foil with a skewer.
Uncover and finish baking. Remove the foil and fold back the parchment. Continue baking for 20 to 25 minutes, until the top layer is golden and the pave is fully tender throughout.
Press overnight. Remove from oven. Place a second loaf pan directly on top of the pave and weight it with canned goods or a heavy object. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight under the weight.
Unmold and slice. The next day, lift the pave from the pan using the parchment overhang. Place on a cutting board and slice into 3/4-inch portions with a sharp knife.
Pan-finish before serving. Heat a thin layer of oil or butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sear each slice 2 to 3 minutes per side until deeply golden and heated through. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Root Vegetable Pave — Grown, Dried, and Finished