Banana shallots (sometimes known as torpedo), the most generously proportioned and mild tasting of the shallot family, roast superbly, their translucent flesh almost melting inside their skins. I have eaten them this way with creamy goat cheese mashed with herbs (thyme, tarragon, chives) and with a lump of good, mouth-puckering Cheddar too. Yet they will also stand as a vegetable. I think it worth including them here for that alone.

　　

Ingredients

banana shallots – 4 per person

　　olive oil

　　thyme sprigs

　　a little cheese, such as Caerphilly or Cheddar

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Bake the shallots in their skins, with a light drizzle of oil and a few sprigs of thyme, for about thirty minutes, until soft to the touch. Test one; it should be meltingly soft inside.

　　

Step 2

Put the shallots on serving plates, cut into each shallot, then pour in a drop or two of olive oil and add a few thyme leaves and a few thin scraps of cheese. Press together until the cheese softens. Push the shallot from its skin and eat while hot.

　　Tender