Celeriac, AKA

So last week's poser was this little item...

which is called Celeriac.

Celeriac (Apium graveolens rapaceum) is also known as celery root, turnip-rooted celery or knob celery. It is a kind of celery, grown as a root vegetable for its large and bulbous hypocotyl rather than for its stem and leaves. The swollen hypocotyl is typically used when it is about 10–12 cm in diameter; about the size of a large potato. Unlike other root vegetables, which store a large amount of starch, celery root is only about 5-6% starch by weight.

So what can one do with said vegetable?

You can roast it, mash it, boil it, shred it and put it in salads, or you can even turn it into hollow straws with which to sip Bloody Marys. Here's a fab recipe:

Celeriac Soup

The flavour of this soup is subtle, but it gives you a chance to enjoy the celeriac, rather than masking its flavour.

Ingredients

Serves 2-3

1 celeriac

1 medium onion

1 pint vegetable stock

2 tablespoons good quality olive oil

Handful of fresh herbs (e.g. parsley, thyme leaves, sage, chives)

1 dried bay leaf

Salt & pepper to taste

50ml double cream (optional)

Method

Peel the celeriac and chop into cubes. Peel the onion and slice finely.

Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the celeriac and onion. Stir to coat with oil. Sauté gently for 10 minutes.

Add the stock and bay leaf. Simmer over a low heat for about 30 minutes, until the celeriac is soft (this depends on the size of your cubes!).

Remove the bay leaf and discard.

Add the fresh herbs and then liquidise, until smooth.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Stir in the cream, if using.

And so... next food...

Name This Food!