Celeriac: The Unknown Vegetable

Last week, we harvested celeriac for the very first time at Common Thread! Honestly, none of us really knew what celeriac was besides the hunch that it was part of the celery family. We learned that celeriac is basically a type of celery that is cultivated specifically for its edible roots. In harvesting this vegetable, we had to pull it out of the ground, then chop off the ends and the tops of the celeriac in order to rid of the roots at the end and the leafy greens at the top (which is too bitter to be eaten). However, apparently, this vegetable isn't a very popular ingredient in many recipes. I decided to find a few easy recipes in which this ingredient is included to share with the class! 

Creamy Celeriac Soup

 

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/creamy-celeriac-soup 
 
Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter 

4 ounces French bread baguette, cut into (1-inch) cubes 

1 tablespoon olive oil 

3 cups sliced leek

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 

5 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled celeriac (celery root)

4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth 

1/2 cup half-and-half 

1/2 teaspoon black pepper 

1/4 teaspoon salt

Fresh parsley (optional)

Preparation: 
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Melt butter; toss with bread on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until golden.
3. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add leek; cook 10 minutes, stirring often. Stir in flour; cook 2 minutes, stirring well. Add celeriac and broth; bring to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes.
4. Place half of mixture in blender. Remove center piece of blender lid, and secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in lid. Process until smooth. Strain pureed mixture through a sieve over a bowl; discard solids. Repeat procedure with remaining celeriac mixture.
5. Return soup to pan over medium heat; stir in half-and-half, pepper, and salt. Cook for 5 minutes. Serve with croutons. Garnish with parsley, if desired.


Roast Root Vegetables

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/roastrootvegetables_8820


Ingredients:

½ swede peeled

2 large carrots, peeled

2 parsnips, peeled

1 raw beetroot, peeled

½ celeriac, peeled

2 tbsp olive oil

Few sprigs fresh thyme 

Sea salt flakes

Preparation:

1. Heat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.

2. Cut the vegetables into chunks approximately the same size.

3. Toss all the vegetables with the olive oil and put into a large roasting tin. Top with the thyme sprigs.

4. Bake in the oven until tender, about 40-50 minutes. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve at once.