"celery root" news and stories

• Free Press writers share "odes to ugly vegetables." First up, the vegetable most often fed to dogs under the table -- Brussels sprouts.
• Next ode: kohlrabi -- the sweet cousin of the cabbage family that is yet to be popularized in this country.
• A tribute to the "alien soccer ball" that is celery root.
• Consider high-end liquors as gifts this holiday season. No Black Friday crowds, and it is so much better than a hand-knit sweater.
• Vermont Smoke and Cure produces nitrate-free bacon that was described by the New York Times as having "... possibly the finest (bacon) on the planet."

Celeriac, often called "celery root," is now in season. Unlike, many other root vegetables, the taproot of Celeriac is only 5 to 6 percent starch. Next time you're at a food market, pick out a celeriac with firm and small to medium-sized roots. Smaller roots produce a more flavorful root taste.

Once, you've purchased celeriac and your ready to eat it, you'll have to wash the root under water and slice off its tough, furrowed, outer surface. It's too rough to peel. Ah, the numerous dishes you can make with celeriac! I first encountered celeriac in a French dish called Céleri Rémoulade, essentially a celery root salad with a mayonnaise-based dressing.

Below are 8 delicious ways to prepare celeriac:

1. Celery root remoulade
2. Celeriac puree
3. Puree of celeriac soup with glazed celeriac and curried apple
4. 5 Peppercorn beef tenderloin with celeriac-potato cake fried garlic and baby spinach saute with basil oil
5. Potato, celery root and stilton gratin
6. Cucumber, celeriac and citrus salad with warm rock shrimp
7. Chowder of scallops, celeriac, and potato with caramelized pear and roasted, crushed chestnuts
8. Smoked salmon and celeriac dauphinoise

Celery root, also known as celeriac, is the troll-like cousin of the regular ol' celery found in Bloody Marys and tuna salad. Unlike celery, celeriac is grown for its large taproot, which looks like a balled-up, fossilized squid. It has a celery-like taste, and is often used in soups or roasted like other root vegetables. Use it where you might use cauliflower, parsnips or fennel - it pairs excellently with nutty hard cheeses. The French use it in the classic céleri rémoulade, a salad of shredded celeriac with mayonnaise dressing (kind of a French coleslaw). There's a good recipe here on Epicurious. It's not in season now, but keep it in mind come fall. After all, looks aren't everything.