This celeriac recipe is too good not to share and even though celeriac is available year round, it’s at its best from September to April. This knobbly root vegetable has a silky smooth flesh when cooked which makes it a perfect alternative to pasta.
I used spinach as an alternative to the chard, but you could also use radish leaves too.
Ingredients
- 1 small celeriac, peeled
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 40g pumpkin seeds
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 15g butter
- 4 thyme sprigs, leaves removed
- 2 finely chopped cloves of garlic
- ½ tsp of dried chilli flakes
- 1 bunch of chard, leaves separated from stalks, stalks sliced and leaves shredded
- 20g pecorino
Method
- Using a good vegetable peeler, cut long, wide strips (about the width of pappardelle) around the circumference of the celeriac, into a bowl of water and lemon juice, until you have lots of ribbons. Allow for more than you would if using pasta.
- Dry-fry the pumpkin seeds in a pan until they’ve puffed and popped. Set aside.
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the celeriac for 1 min, drain and reserve the water. In a non-stick frying pan, heat the oil and butter until the butter has melted and foamed up. Add the thyme, garlic and chilli.
- Cook the garlic mixture for 5 mins until fragrant and almost golden, add the chard stalks and stir, cooking for a couple more mins. Add the pumpkin seeds and the chard leaves, season and squeeze in some lemon juice. Turn up the heat and stir in half the grated cheese. Add the celeriac and a slosh of the cooking water and toss, shaking the pan until the sauce looks glossy. Divide between plates, top with more cheese and serve.
