by Lisa Giroday, Sandra Lopuch and Sam Philips | Celeriac, Apium graveolens var. rapaceum, often called “celery root”, is a variety of celery grown for its edible, bulbous roots, or hypocotyls. Its origins lie in the Mediterranean Basin, where it is often grown wild. While it is a mild pain in the ass to peel on account of all its little nubbins and tentacles, it should be considered a food staple, and here’s why: celeriac tastes like common varieties of celery, and has that comforting texture of a root vegetable – so it’s super versatile. It already has a delicious, complex flavour, so it’s perfect when mashed or used in a soup. It’s edible both raw and cooked, so you can eat it julienned raw on a salad, too. Or, if you want the best of both worlds, you could make a warm root vegetable salad and toss it with some hardy winter greens.

Celeriac is healthier than meets the eye. Its an excellent source of potassium and a good source of vitamins C and B6, phosphorus, magnesium and iron (making it a good source of energy to boot). You gotta love veggies loaded with iron! The days might technically be getting longer, but we’re still in the depths of winter, making now the perfect time to make use of this amazing root vegetable. Check out the simple by delicious mash recipe after the jump…

Celeriac Mash (serves 2)

Ingredients

1 large celeriac, or a few little guys
2 cloves garlic
A few sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
Olive oil (for initial cooking – you know what to do)
Salt and pepper
A few tablespoons of water or veg stock

Method

Peel away on that celeriac surface. Cut it into small cubes. Pour the olive oil in a casserole pot or deep pan, and add the garlic, celeriac, and thyme with the s&p. Fry on high-ish for several minutes, then reduce heat, add water or stock, cover, and cook until tender. Then mash!

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Victory Gardens is a team of local urban farmers for hire. Lisa, Sandra and Sam help transform tired or underused residential and commercial green spaces into food producing gardens. Their goal is to challenge the way communities use space and to participate in the change needed to consume food more sustainably. For the rest of the growing season, they’ve hooked up with Scout to share some cool tips and tricks on how to get the best from of our own backyards.