I AM A CELERY ROOT

Hello my name is Cecille and I am a Celery Root. I come from Europe and I am very old, I actually date back to ancient times. I am very famous and was even written about in Homer’s Odyssey. My cousins originated in the Mediterranean and are not well known in North America, but we are becoming more popular everyday as cooks discover my myriad of uses. They love us in France and Italy where we are used in all kinds of amazing dishes. We are part of the celery family, and widely used in French cooking.  Our stalks and leaves kinda look like celery, although they are not very good to eat. We could certainly not win any beauty contests as on the outside we appear ugly, uninteresting and knobby but on the inside we are crispy when raw and silky smooth when cooked and have a delicate taste flavour of celery and parsley with a slight nuttiness. (Sound like anyone you know!)  We are wonderful with mashed potatoes and garlic – Yummy! You can treat us like turnips or rutabagas – we don’t mind – you can grate, shred, or julienne us and put us in salads. We love soups and stews and add excellent flavour. You can even put us in your stuffing.  We are an excellent source of potassium and a good source of vitamin C and B6, phosphorus, magnesium, iron and vitamin K. We are beneficial to the lymphatic, nervous, and urinary systems and a good source of fibre, including the soluble type that lowers elevated blood cholesterol.  In 2009 Oprah swore by our taste and nutritional benefits – see I told you we were famous.  You can peel, slice and roast us or cut us into thin sticks and include us on your next veggie platter with dip. We are healthyisious!

When you pick us up at the store you will like us better if we are firm without fleshy spots or discolorations. The smaller we are the better we taste. Store us in the fridge in a brown paper bag with stems trimmed, we will wait for you for about one week.  Don’t forget about us – we are all scared alone in the dark cold refrigerator.

Even thought we are not as widely known as some other root vegetables like turnips, carrots, beets, and ginger does not mean you should not give us a try – we are a wonderful winter vegetable and we contain very little starch. We have 18 calories per 100g, which makes us ideal to eat if you are on a diet. We are also low in sugar. Don’t leave us languish on the supermarket shelve this year we truly feel unappreciated. Give me a whirl – you won’t be sorry!

By: Kathryn Hartwell