Smashed Celeriac Food

SMASHED CELERIAC

Steps:

• Peel the celeriac, then slice about 1cm/½ inch off the bottom of it and roll it on to that flat edge, so it's nice and safe to slice. Slice and dice it all up into 1cm/½ inch-ish cubes. Don't get your ruler out - they don't have to be perfect.
• Put a casserole-type pot on a high heat, add 3 good lugs of olive oil, then add the celeriac. Pick in the thyme leaves and peel and finely chop the garlic, and add both with a little sea salt and black pepper. Stir around to coat and fry quite fast, giving a little colour, for 5 minutes.
• Turn the heat down to a simmer, add the water or stock, place a lid on top and cook for around 25 minutes, until tender.
• Season carefully to taste and stir around with a spoon to smash up the celeriac. Some people like to keep it in cubes, some like to mash it, but I think it looks and tastes much better if you smash it, which is somewhere in the middle. You can serve this with just about any meat you can think of.

CREAMY CELERY ROOT MASH

Steps:

• Place celeriac into a large pot and cover with salted water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
• Mash celeriac, sour cream, and dill together in a large bowl with a potato masher until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

CELERIAC MASH

Steps:

• Place the celeriac cubes into a large pot and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 12 minutes. Add the potatoes, and continue boiling until the vegetables are very tender, about 15 minutes more. Drain and allow to steam dry for a minute or two.
• Return the vegetables to the pot, and stir over medium-high heat until liquid is no longer pooling from the vegetables. Remove from the heat, and pour in the cream and butter. Mash with a potato masher until almost smooth.

COD & SMASHED CELERIAC

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put the celeriac into a roasting tin, drizzle with 2 tbsp oil, then sprinkle over the fennel seeds. Season and bake in the oven for 45 mins, stirring halfway through, until lightly charred.
• While the celeriac cooks, put the spring onions in a dry pan and cook over a high heat for 3-4 mins, turning occasionally, until starting to char. Spread two large sheets of foil out on your work surface. Divide the spring onions between the foil sheets, then top with the grated courgette, garlic and fish. Season and drizzle over the lemon juice and the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil. Scrunch up the edges of the foil to seal and create two parcels. Put the parcels on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 10-12 mins.
• When the celeriac is cooked, mash the pieces with a potato masher or a fork and season well. Pile the smashed celeriac onto plates, then carefully open the fish parcels - the contents will be hot - and gently slide onto the plates next to the celeriac. Garnish with parsley and serve with rocket leaves and lemon wedges.

SMASHED CELERIAC

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a shallow pan and sizzle the garlic for 1 min until fragrant. Add the chilli, thyme and celeriac. Toss everything to coat in the oil, then season with salt.
• Turn the heat down to a minimum, cover the pan and cook everything really gently for 40 mins or until soft enough to squash. Stir occasionally and add a splash of white wine or water if it starts to catch. When cooked, crush the celeriac lightly with a wooden spoon and serve. The celeriac may now be left to cool in the pan - reheat on the hob with a drizzle more oil.

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.

CELERIAC MASH

Steps:

• Cook celeriac in large saucepan of boiling salted water 15 minutes. Add potato and boil until celeriac and potato are very tender, about 15 minutes longer. Drain. Return to same saucepan; stir over medium-high heat until any excess liquid in pan evaporates, about 2 minutes. Add cream and butter; mash until mixture is almost smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.