Every fortnight I will be doing a post on unusual yet highly underestimated and rarely used vegetables/fruit not usually used for everyday consumption in the everyday kitchen.This week is the first of the “unusual suspects” series, and kicking it off, I am inspired by the Root Vegetable, Celeriac. Much like it’s green, skinny cousin Celery, Celeriac is milder in flavour. Don’t be intimidated by its rugged and chunky exterior, there’s quite a bit one can do with this interesting vegetable. In the photo below, you will see I made Celeriac two ways, as a Slaw and cut up into wedges and roasted until golden and crisp. A few days ago, I was challenged by my partner to think up a different, and alternative to Coleslaw. The photo below shows the slaw I made, I roughly chopped the Celeriac and Apple into matchsticks and using a vegetable peeler with the stick of Rhubarb to create volume and texture in the slaw, for the garnish I added Coriander and toasted Sesame seeds, drizzled extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, so as to prevent the apple from oxidizing(that nasty brown colour chopped Apples turn when we leave them out too long).
The slaw is but a fusion of flavours and texture,the side you can serve alongside a juicy rack of ribs or succulent Pork belly for a bit of freshness and tart to juxtapose the heavyness of the meat. Not keen on slaw? Why not try a Gratin of Celeriac or maybe cut into chips and roast in the oven.
The wedges were roasted in extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with my favourite Maldon Smoked salt. Keeping the flavour profile as simple, so as to let the true flavour of the root vegetable shine through.
The wedges may not look very cheffy but it’s homemade and I quite like the rustic feel of them. To be quite honest, I’ve never really looked in this humble root vegetable’s way until one day, the thought crossed my mind, and wondered what they taste like and the kinds of dishes I can conjure up. I dare you to have a moment of experimentation of crazy looking veg or fruit, stop wondering and just taste!
Time for an adventure? Go experiment!
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