British Veggie of the Month: Celeriac

March 22, 2016

by Trisha Learn

Contents

Meet Selena the Celeriac

If you’re one of our customers, you may have notived a little celeriac in your box this week. From now on, in order to promote delicious local, seasonal produce, we’ll be popping our British Veggie of the Week in your boxes as part of your dinner.

If you’re not a HelloFresh customer – you can also find out all about celeriac and what to do with it – right here!

An Ode To Celeriac

Meet Katherine, she’s a poet, HelloFresh customer and publisher of the urban magazine South Bank Poetry (a Princes Trust supported business). Our chef Patrick met her recently and they were chatting about HelloFresh and our love of food. Luckily she loves food too, who doesn’t? Her goal with South Bank Poetry is to make poetry accessible to everyone. Here’s her take on the wonderful celeriac:

A Love Poem to Celeriac

When we think of cooking vegetables we should think of you more.

You, who grow in North Africa, Siberis, Asia and America, grow wildly too.

Homer knew enough about you to feed you to his heroes.

HOW SHOULD I STORE MY CELERIAC?

The key is NOT to wash your celeriac before you store it. Simply place it in your vegetable drawer or inside a plastic bag in your fridge and it‘ll be good for up to a month.

HMM… HOW CAN I COOK MY CELERIAC?

To prep – chop both ends off to remove the root & top. To peel cut down the sides from top to bottom with a sharp knife or use a vegetable peeler. And then…

Add celeriac cubes to soups & stews.
Try raw celeriac strips tossed in your favourite creamy dressing or use them for dipping.
Grate raw into salads.
Boil & mash with potatoes.
Roast it – think chips or roast potatoes!
Cut into 1⁄4 inch slices, lightly coat with oil in a baking pan, sprinkle with thyme and salt.
Then add a quarter cup of water or apple juice, cover with foil and bake at 190° for 25 mins or until tender.

HOW DOES CELERIAC GROW?

Celeriac is more resilient than its sister celery but has a similar flavour. If you want to grow your own celeriac, here are some tips:
Take the individual seedlings and transfer them to their own small pots as soon as possible.
Ideal temperature is between 15-18°C. Make sure it’s not too cold, because they will flower too early for you to eat them!
Celeriac’s favourite soil is the moist, rich, fertile type – so make sure the soil is always moist by watering often. Celeriac loves the sun!
As the celeriac grows, it’s best to pull off the outer leaves. This helps it develop.

CELERIAC IS A POPULAR CHAP…

If you feel like getting creative with celeriac, our lovely chef Victoria has created this list of all the

herbs, spices, cheeses and veggies that celeriac tastes best with:

HERBS

Thyme, tarragon and rosemary.

SPICES

Nutmeg, cayenne pepper and smoked paprika.

CELERIAC’S FAVOURITE CHEESE IS…

Parmesan (and sometimes blue cheese).

CELERIAC AND PEAR SITTING IN A TREE…

T-A-S-T-I-N-G really delicious in a mash!

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