Also known as celery-root, this is a delicious knobbly root vegetable. You can't be blamed for feeling put off by its alien appearance, the size of the thing and the mud it conceals in its tentacles. But it’s well worth breaking through those first impressions because this is a tasty little monster.
It smells amazing
It has a wonderfully fresh aroma reminicent of celery, parsley and parsnip. If I could make this into a perfume, I would spray myself with eau de celeriac every day. For the more conventional, you could waft your celeriac around your kitchen for a rustic room fragrance.
It's really good for you
Celeriac's an excellent source of vitamin K, which is great for bone health and has a possible benefit for people suffering from Alzheimer's by limiting neuronal damage in the brain. On top of that, it contains many anti-oxidants and essential minerals phosphorus, iron, calcium, manganese and copper. What's not to love?!
It's easy to cook
Its flesh is soft and the skin comes off very easily with a knife. No need to faff about with a peeler - just slice it off with long downward swipes of a knife. Then when you've released the pure white flesh from its Jabba the Hutt exterior, there's a world of lovely tasty things you can do with it. Simply roasted in chunks with some salt and pepper is good enough for me, but you might also want to try some of these recipes to get you going:
Celeriac soup with chilli & coriander
Celeriac Puree with Butterbeans