Celerita Recipes

SIMPLE AS THAT CELERIAC

Steps:

• This is the most underrated vegetable in the whole of the United Kingdom. It's available in every single supermarket, we walk past it all the time, and yet we still take no notice of it. It's an incredible vegetable, it's really good for you and you only need to use 2 or 3 ingredients to bring it to life and blow people's socks off.
• Shave off the celeriac ends and throw them away, then use your knife to peel away the outside skin, cutting away any cracks and crannies as you go. Once you've cut the edge you'll be able to see the thickness of the skin you need to peel away. Chop the celeriac up into slices, then into rough 1cm cubes.
• Put a casserole-type pan on a medium-high heat and add a lug of olive oil. Rip in the lemon thyme - the smells from this will be outrageous - then go straight in with the diced celeriac and a generous pinch of salt. Turn the heat down to medium, pop the lid on and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until tender. Make sure you keep it moving - you want it to fry lightly from the bottom, and kind of steam in its own moisture.
• At this stage, you have two choices. You can either serve it up blonde or you can take the lid off and fry for a further 4 minutes or so, to take the colour much darker. This is such a flexible recipe, you can make it the day before and reheat when you need, or you can blitz it up with some stock for a delicious soup. Give it a try.

CELERIAC PUREE

Steps:

• Brush excess dirt off of the celeriac. Cut off the bottoms and tops, cut into quarters and peel. Rinse in cool water if there is any remaining dirt or debris. Cut into 1/2-inch thick dice.
• Heat the olive oil in a 4-quart saucepan over low heat just until it shimmers. Add the celeriac, garlic, salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, just until it begins to soften, approximately 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the water. Bring to a boil and cook until the celeriac is tender and easily pierced with a fork, approximately 20 minutes. Drain the celeriac through a colander and return to the pot. Using a stick blender, puree until no lumps are present, approximately 1 minute. Place the butter and heavy cream into a microwave proof bowl and heat just until the butter is melted, approximately 45 seconds. Add the cream and butter and continue to puree with the stick blender for another minute. Serve warm.

BAKED CELERIAC

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350.
• Thoroughly wash whole celeriac and pat dry; brush the outside with olive oil, sprinkle liberally with coarse salt and bake for 1 to 2 hours (for celeriac, longer is better; many vegetables will be done sooner), until the outside is roasted and evenly crisp and the inside is tender.
• Remove from the oven, cut up if you like (you can also sprinkle with more oil and salt) and serve. (Yes, you can eat the skin.)

CELERITA

Steps:

• Muddle celery and sugar together in a mixing glass until crushed. Add tequila and stir to dissolve sugar. Strain into 2 ice-filled Collins or rocks glasses. Top with seltzer.