CHILLED CELERIAC

 Do you like celery? If you do, you'll love celeriac. Some call it celery root or celery knob it also has a long botanical name but I find it too  difficult to pronounce or spell. Anyhow, its bulbous, not so hard, unassuming and visiually not very attractive vegetable. Despite its hard apperance it is easy to cut and it smells a little stronger than celery.  A lot people are put off by its looks.

With their tentacles and gnarly look, they look like they're out of a sci-fi movie.  I can understand the reason why these little gems may not be so popular, but like anything else you can't judge a book by its cover.  They are filled with vitamins and are very healthy (check  Wikipedia for more health information).

When I cook this dish for my company, I wait for them to take the first bite, then when they smack their lips and enjoy what they're eating,  I tell them what it is and they're surprised by its sweet taste. 

Celeriac is  very versatile, it can be cooked to be eaten  chilled or warm. It's a good addition for soups or stewes.  It can be grated into salads, or mixed with yogurt or mayonnaise or thinly sliced and fried.  I like the chilled version and  prefer it with lots of lemon.

4 medium size celeriac
1 large onion chopped
1/3 cups of olive oil
2 medium size carrots cleaned and cut into rounds
1 Cup of water
1-2 twigs of fresh dill chopped
2 tbsp of lemon juice
*salt & pepper

Wash celeriac and cut any shoots from the root,  peel the outer skin and discard. Cut the vegetable in to quarters or cubes and set aside. Saute onion in oil, until translucent in a large pot, add carrots, celeriac and water. Cover and cook for 45 minutes or until fork tender. Place in a platter, sprinkle with lemon juice and dill. Place in the refrigerator until chilled. Enjoy the experience.