Celeriac and Celery Soup

A friend who had looked at my blog for the first time today said "thanks for telling me what I can do with celeriac".  It is a shame it is a veg that appears to strike fear into people - I love its aniseedy celery flavour and smooth texture.  I decided to use up half of one that has been lurking in the fridge, along with a head of celery and a big leek, to make a soothing, creamy soup on a chilly late Winter day.  It is just the usual approach - clean and chop a leek (keep some of the green part, it adds to the colour), and chop an onion, then sweat these in about 25g of butter and a splosh of olive oil, along with a cleaned, chopped head of celery and a small head of peeled and chopped celeriac.  Do this sweating stage slowly, with the lid on, to help soften and develop the flavours.  Don't allow the veg to colour.  Now, just cover with veg or chicken stock and simmer for 15 minutes or so, then blend.  I like to add quite a bit of flat-leaf parsley at this stage - the overall colour at the end is much improved.  Thin with milk or cream if liked, season with celery salt and nutmeg and serve in a big bowl with crusty bread - I had some warm wholemeal soda bread fresh from the oven - heaven!  And cheap too - add some cheese and fruit and you have a substantial lunch or supper for well under a fiver.

Celeriac Remoulade with Smoked Salmon

We have just spent a lovely few days with our friends in Lancashire, where we were treated to some fabulous meat dishes, including an amazing shoulder of lamb cooked for 21 hours.  But I find myself longing for some non-meat dishes, and the tangy spritz of celeriac remoulade did the trick.  Remoulade is really just a posh coleslaw, so don't be put off by the name.  There are numerous recipes on the web - the one thing I'd say is that some of them are a bit generous with the mustard.  This dish should have a refreshing bite from the Dijon, not a mule kick in the head.  I peeled and shredded half a large celeriac - try to get long elegant julienne matchsticks, a mandolin grater helps but patience and a sharp knife will do, too.  Blanch the strips of celeriac in a pot of boiling salted water for just 30 seconds or so, drain and refresh in cold water.  Drain again.  Now, either make your own mayo or get a jar of good old Hellman's - you need about  2 heaped tablespoons of it.  Put it in a bowl, season with a little salt, black pepper, the juice of half a lemon, a teaspoon of smooth Dijon mustard and half a teaspoon of wholegrain mustard.  Mix well.  If it is thick, thin it with a tablespoon of milk.  Adjust the mustard to your own tastes.  Now mix in a tablespoon of very finely chopped parsley, and fold the cool, drained celeriac through it.  Alllow to sit for an hour or so to develop the flavours, then serve with good smoked salmon, some freshly cooked beetroot and some rocket.  We were lucky to get wild River Lune smoked salmon from the Port of Lancaster Smokehouse and it was wonderful - tender, dry, delicate.  A fine supper indeed.

Carrot and Celeriac Soup

One of my favourite Delia recipes is her Carrot and Jeruslaem Artichoke Soup.  In the absence of the knobbly little roots (although they are due in the Riverford Seasons box tomorrow) I used up the remaining half of a celeriac from last week's delivery.  The resultant soup was delicate and delicious, and a wonderful colour.  I started the usual way by sweating a chopped onion in a little oil and butter, then adding around 500g each of peeled, chopped organic carrots and celeriac.  Allow to sweat together, covered, for about 15 minutes, then add 750ml of Marigold veg stock, simmer for 20 minutes until the veg is really soft, and blend.  I added lots of parsley and black pepper right at the end, and a little dollop of Greek Yoghurt.  Lovely, soothing soup.  Cheap as anything, too.

A Cake of Parsnip and Celeriac

A Nigel Slater recipe, from his stunning book, 'Tender - vol 1'.  Not a cake made with flour, sugar, etc, but a baked dish, a gratin, almost, but with no cream or cheese, just a little stock, butter and thyme.  The smell in the flat as this baked was amazing - helped, no doubt, by the freshest, most aromatic roots from the Riverford box.  I have found an online recipe for you if you are unwise enough not to have invested in either volume of Tender.  The only change I made was to halve the amount of butter.  It made a big dish, and half of it will be reheated during the week, perhaps with some bangers.  Gorgeous.

Celeriac and Walnut Remoulade [#179]

Nigel's recipe suggested using creme fraiche instead of the usual mayonnaise, which seemed a bit too rich and creamy to me, so I did half-and-half, using Hellmann's and half-fat creme fraiche instead. It needs a bit of poke, with Dijon and grain mustard, lemon juice and salt and pepper. It was very good, although next time I'll cut the celeriac even finer (I don't have a mandolin grater) to avoid having to chew QUITE so much! I served it with smokey applewood ham and lots of watercress for a healthy salad. We started with vegetable and barley broth to get some warmth into us!