Celeriac-Potato Mashup

Ah, celeriac. It's as if potato and a celery fell in love and had a baby. This funny looking root vegetable is crunchy and ugly and tastes kinda celery-like. We discovered its wonders when we were on the raw food road. My (and Ryan's) hands down favorite way to prepare celeriac is as a raw macadamia-apple soup. Here is a link to that recipe, which comes from the book Raw Food, Real World. (This book is full of elaborate and delicious recipes that take hours to prepare...except that soup, which is relatively easy to make.) Another good way to prepare celeriac is in a remoulade. (I will post my remoulade recipe one of these days...)

Tonight I decided to try celeriac in a garlicky, savory mashup. I thought that it was very good. Ryan still says that the raw soup is the best, but this recipe is definitely worth trying. It was super flavorful and satisfying. The texture and flavor of the celeriac changed quite a bit when cooked, becoming sweeter and softer, reminiscent of stewed apples.

Celeriac-Potato Mashup

• 1 medium sized celeriac root, peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes
• 6-7 fingerling potatoes or 1 regular potato, chopped into cubes (no need to peel)
• 1 head (or more, I used almost one cup!) garlic, chopped
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 2 TBS rosemary
• salt & black pepper to taste

In a large skillet or dutch oven, saute the garlic in the olive oil until lightly golden. Add the celeriac & potato and cook over a medium heat, stirring frequently, until the edges begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Add the water, wine, rosemary, salt and pepper and cover. Cook for another 10 or so minutes until the root vegetables are soft. Using a potato masher, smash halfway to mashed. Check the seasoning and serve.