Celeriac

This is celeriac. I’ve seen it it vegetable shops (and it often appears on Masterchef as a puree on top of which is placed something lightly seared and wrapped in something else). I think I’ve cooked it before – well I’ve possibly added it to a soup, but I have no recollection of preparing it – and not much idea of what to do with it. (I should have paid more attention to Masterchef maybe).

So, I consulted Jane Grigson’s Vegetable book. This is the perfect book if you have a vegetable and don’t know what to do with it – ideal if you have a weekly organic veg box in which something odd keeps featuring. Vegetables are listed alphabetically with a few cooking hints and suggestions as well as recipes which are fairly simple. It’s of its time, but very readable and the recipes are simple and they work. If you follow them. I learned that if you don’t plunge celeriac in acidulated water (ie add vinegar or lemon juice to water) as soon as you cut it, it goes brown. So I peeled and chopped my celeriac and plunged it in slightly vinegary water and it didn’t go brown. Result. I then cooked it in the same water until it was soft. Carlo came into the kitchen as it was cooking and said “that’s really strong smelling”. It wasn’t a compliment. I drained and then mashed the celeriac adding some salt and pepper. It didn’t taste of vinegar which I had been slightly concerned about. It didn’t taste of celery either, which it did when it was raw, and it was much sweeter cooked.  It did remind me a little of parsnips…

We ate it with fried mushrooms, potato salad, and a red and green leaf salad – and pizza. It worked very well with the fried mushrooms. The beloved thought it was delicious – quite rich tasting. I thought it was  interesting, Carlo hated it and Rella wouldn’t try it.

This does not augur well.  The beloved has just planted lots of celeriac seed. I forsee next season’s glut and I don’t think Jane Grigson’s going to be able to help me.