Celeriac
Celeriac is an ugly looking dirty cream vegetable. Don’t be put off by its appearance if you haven’t used it before – it’s delicious. Like celery but nutty and not watery. It’s sometimes called celery root, although it’s a different plant. You need to prepare it and cook it straight away as it can discolour if left to stand. But if you don’t want to use the whole celeriac at once, don’t worry. It will keep in the fridge, whole or in a chunk, for over a week as long as it’s dry. It’s fine to use in any mixed root vegetable soup or roast, lovely in a mustardy salad dressing and good as oven baked chips.
Celeriac may be used raw or cooked. It has a tough, outer surface which is usually sliced off before use because it is too rough to peel. Celeriac has a celery flavour, and is often used as a flavouring in soups and stews; it can also be used on its own, usually mashed, or used in casseroles, gratins and baked dishes.
Celeri remoulade
This is a classic French salad, and although it sounds posh it’s easy to do, and the dressing has a nice kick
1 medium or half a large celeriac
2-3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2-3 tablespoons plain yogurt
2-3 teaspoons French or grain mustard
Grate the celeriac – if you have a food processor use the fine grater to produce julienne strips. Mix mayonnaise, yogurt and mustard and stir into celeriac.