Sometimes, a vegetable is so ugly you think, this will either taste really good or really bad.  My ugly vegetable to try was celeriac, or celery root.  Both my Roots cookbook by Diane Morgan and the recipe write-up from Jamie Oliver made it sound like a something worth giving a try, who knows, perhaps it would be something I would want to grow?  So, off I went in search of celeriac.

FIrst, off to my local market, they carry many root vegetables, but, alas, no celeriac.  Then to Willey’s – one of my sources for locally grown items.  No celeriac, but they had celery root.  It looked like the pictures, but was it the same?  I asked the woman working there, she wasn’t sure.  So, out came the handy dandy iPhone and Google.  Search “celery root definition”….result ” celery root, also known as celeriac…”  And I had my vegetable.

Jamie Oliver had a very simple  preparation – cube it, steam it and pan fry it.  No sweat.

The result – very tasty.  It looked like potatoes, but didn’t taste anything like potatoes.  Except for my 4 year old, it was given an all-around thumbs up.  Add to that that is it also really good for you, we will definitely be having it again.

Jamie Oliver’s Simple as that Celeriac

Write up slightly adapted.

1 celeriac, roughly 2 lbs

Olive oil

Few sprigs lemon thyme (I only had regular thyme) (from the garden)

Sea salt

Directions

Shave off the celeriac ends, then peel away the outside skin, cutting away cracks and crannies.

Chop into 1 cm slices, then into rough 1 cm cubes.

Put a casserole-type pan on medium-high heat and add about 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil. Add the lemon thyme then the celeriac and a generous pinch of salt.

Turn the heat down to medium, put the lid on and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until tender, stirring periodically.  Remove the lid and fry for another 4 minutes or so, browning around the outside.

Taste, adjust the seasoning, serve and enjoy!  It went very well with our black bean burgers and edamame.

Serves 4.