UKH

I have never, knowingly, had celeriac but it seems that every dish on the latest series of Masterchef has this in there somewhere. Including, it seemed, some starters and deserts!

Is it really a wonder ingredient that I have, so far, managed to miss out on or is it the most recent overrated foodie fad?

Answers please (And some recipes if it really is that good!)...

I use celeriac as part of my oven roasted veg ensemble.  Carrots, potatoes, white onions halved, celeriac cut into2 inch cubes, whole cloves of garlic and anything else you fancy throwing in. Fry in a deep flame proof oven dish for 15 minutes until the veg starts to caramelise then add 1.5 litres of vegetable stock (bouillon). Simmer for 20 minutes until about 20% of the liquid has evaporated then bang in the oven for 90 minutes at 180. What a lovely dish either in its own or as an accompaniment to a Sunday roast!!

No it is not a wonder ingredient. As an addition to soups it is OK but IMO nothing special.

Dave

That is very funny, I thought the same, but to be fair Celeriac mash has been a Masterchef staple for years. My mum used to cook it for us and I was never a fan (apart from a tuna -celeriac-cheese pasta bake ( I guess you couldn't taste it then amongst the other ingredients...hahaha)

OK in a stew.

I have cooked with it but it’s nothing special.  

MasterChef seems to have fashions.

One year it was foams another year everyone talked about jus.

This year celeriac. It's a nice enough root vegetable which forms the basis of remoulade. I guess a true MasterChef will of course be able to make something truly sublime from it.

Does MasterChef publish any of the recipes? Some might be worth a bash.

Before it gets into the kitchen, celeriac is of great interest to the gardner. Its not easy to grow - slow to germinate and develop - and demands moist rich soil. In SW France it attracts voles - which take obvious pleasure in tunneling it hollow from below - to fool you into thinking all is OK. Once grown to a good size it holds advantage as a good storer - compare with stick celery. 

In the kitchen my vote would be to roast it - as others have proposed. Done correctly it makes for exquisite variety from parsnip, squash, potato. We have probably eaten more of it raw - grated into a tossed salad.

Overall as a gardner/provider I see a lot of veg go through a wave of popularity when the item 1st comes into season - followed by boredom then repulsion if it appears too frequently on the table - a commentary rarely applicable to the potato ! So - desirability is a question of balance.

Yes I can see kale waning soon. 

Same with gin.

I love a well made celeriac gratin, it's also a good addition to mash on a shepherd's pie.

Delia's winter veg pie has celeriac as a major ingredient. Roasted veg in a cheese sauce in pastry. Fantastic stuff and the celeriac is worth the effort.

Can't see Gin losing its appeal any time soon. Kale on the other hand.......

Celeriac remoulade is good.

Still one of my favourite videos....especially about the 57 second mark 

youtube.com/watch?v=OMg3epr53Ns&

Never been tempted by it purely because it sounds like a nasty medical condition!

It is a little work of genius that.

It's a root vegetable that tastes a bit like celery, nice but nothing great. Over on the other channel the Great British Menu has everything black, squid ink, burnt onions, charcoal, etc. I think someone even used coal oil whatever the f*ck that is!

There are two 'cheap' ways to make any dish tasty - smother the ingredients in cheese or tomato. I find myself swinging between extremes because I like strong tastes and flavours - but the pendulum swings back dependably - let Real Subtle flavours come out - learn to appreciate the diversity of what is available.

At times when I find myself unable to do this the diagnosis is often that I haven't got a good appetite ! as is evident presently under lockdown - because I/we can't get out and exercise properly  

Rum is on the ascendant, though it probably doesn't lend itself to tampering and flavour abuse as much as gin.

Celeriac is lovely mixed in with Dauphinoise (not sure how you spell it?) spuds, nowt special though...

Salsify, that's another things that's always on these foodie programmes.  Don't think I've ever eaten it, or even seen it is real life.

My wife makes a delicious celeriac soup. So smooth and creamy, even without actual cream... A little drizzle of truffle oil to finish and it's top notch.

I really like it. Pureed with roast garlic, milk or stock it goes great with fish. It makes good crisps. It roasts well whole (even better with a salt crust if you can be arsed), and as others have said it goes brill in a gratin, by itself or mixed with other root veg. It also lasts for ages without spoiling.

Grated carrot and celeriac salad - one of my favourites.

A soup article by Ottolenghi

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/feb/01/yotam-ottolenghi-soup-recipes-...

had two top-notch recipes, especially the hawaij onion and chickpea soup, and then the celeriac, garlic and rice soup which I really didn't like. It was too sweet, somehow, but that may have been the fault of the roasted garlic.

A smoked mackerel, celeriac, capers and creme fraiche pate we've been making and eating recently is very nice.