Celeriac

The following appeared in the Herald on Feb 5th last

Celeriac is one peculiar looking vegetable – it looks little like a large white turnip with a terrible skin disease.

Celeriac is a type of celery grown for its root rather than for its stems and leaves and tastes fantastic at this time of year – a winter highlight. It is relatively low in calories (half that of potato) and tastes (unsurprisingly) of celery, albeit with the texture of potato.

Cookbooks tell you to peel a celeriac like a potato but I find it easier to diagonally slice off the gnarly root end and then slice it in rounds and cut or peel off the outer skin.

Treat the celeriac like any root vegetable – once peeled it can be blanched for 5-8 minutes in boiling salted water and served with a knob of butter.

Alternatively, cube it and braise it in a covered saucepan in a little butter on a low heat for 20 minutes, or cook finely chopped with a little stock until soft and then buzz to make a purée (add cream and butter if you want to make it richer).

For Celeriac croquettes; mix cooked mashed celeriac with mashed potato (half and half) and an egg yolk (1 egg yolk per 250g) and then roll in breadcrumbs, and deep fry.

My favourite thing to do with this veg however, is to make soup:

Celeriac Soup with Garlic Cheese Croutons

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Fry a finely chopped medium onion in 50g butter for 30 seconds in a large saucepan. Add 200g of peeled diced potato and 500g of peeled diced Celeriac and stir for 30 seconds.

Allow to cook with the lid on for at least 20 minutes at a low heat, stirring or shaking occasionally to prevent the veg. from sticking.

Next add 600ml Stock (veg. or chicken) and 200ml Milk and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Buzz the soup with a stick blender or push it through a sieve.

For the croutons: toast 12 x 2cm slices of French bread (use the grill) and rub each with a cut clove of garlic. Next mix 50g grated gruyere cheese with 1 egg yolk, spread the cheese egg mix on the rounds of toast and grill until sizzling. Serve the croutons floating in the soup or on the side.

Game, Wild Food. Herald Jan 29th

The Following appeared in my column in the Evening Herald on Jan 29th last:

Wild Food
Wild food always sounds more interesting than farmed and with good reason – it is usually tastier and healthier. Wild mushrooms, wild garlic and wild fish are obvious examples but don't neglect Ireland's fantastic game birds and animals.

Many of us associate game with Christmas and the Autumn but the shooting season for pheasant, partridge, woodpigeon and wild ducks such as mallard or widgeon does not close until January 31st. and deer are culled until the end of February. Wild rabbit can be eaten all year round (but you need to know a farmer with a gun).

Wild ducks and pigeons are significantly stronger tasting than farmed birds and should be eaten rare – just season and brown them in a pan and roast them for 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the bird.

Pheasant is much milder and is the best place to start your game exploration. Most good butchers will be able to source pheasant or visit a good craft butcher such as FX Buckley on Moore St., Lawlors in Rathmines, Downeys in Terenure or Ennis's in Rialto.

Strictly speaking most pheasant is not wild as most are reared by shooting clubs and then released for the season. In addition they are fed during the season to stop them straying too far from the shoot's land. Some do escape the January deadline however so you might bet lucky. In any event they still taste better than any chicken – if a little dryer.

Pheasant with Calvados and Cream

Season a pheasant inside and out and fry in 50g butter in a casserole until browned on all sides. Add a splash of Calvados, put on the lid and place in a 200C oven for 40 minutes. Remove the pheasant and leave to rest in a warm place covered loosely in tinfoil.

Add a good splash of Calvados to the juices in the casserole and flame or boil off some of the alcohol. Add about 150ml of cream and cook on low heat until the sauce thickens and reduces a little. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper.

While the sauce reduces, peel and dice two eating apples and fry the cubes in butter until golden brown.

Carve the pheasant, remove the legs and arrange on a warm plate. Pour the sauce over the meat and sprinkle with the cubed apple. Serve with buttered carrots and roast or boiled potatoes.