Celery and Celeriac
With
similar tastes, but very different textures, these two vegetables have
been developed from the same plant, Apium graveolens, so they
are cultivated in much the same way. Both like soil enriched with
compost or with well rotted manure that was spread the previous autumn.
They both need copious quantities of water and a warm, frost-free start
in life. Since they take a long time to grow the gardener has to sow
seed in March, in a heated propagator, and keep the seedlings cosseted
until night-time temperatures won’t fall below 5°C. Thereafter the plants
are relatively trouble free, though very thirsty, so are best watered
twice a week from an undersoil irrigation system. Celery must be
protected from slugs which love to take up residence inside the
developing heads. Surround your plants with beer traps.
In the autumn both celery and celeriac can be harvested as soon as they
seem big enough to be usable. They will tolerate a “touch of frost”, ie
down to -2 or -3°C, but cannot cope with serious freezing which reduces
them to brown mush. Celery won’t store so don’t grow more than you will
be able to use in a few months. Celeriac should be lifted, trimmed of
leaves and small roots asnd stored, not in a
plastic bag, for up to 2 or 3 weeks in a cool larder, or properly in
sand in a frost-free shed where it will keep for 3 or 4 months.
Celeriac does not freeze well, store it instead, and because celery is
so water filled it can only be frozen as a soup base and even then the
flavour deteriorates.
Salads
and soups are their traditional uses, and very good they are, but
braised celery, buttery celeriac mashed into potatoes, spicy stir-fried
and celeriac and apple “rosti” will give these two veg a fresh look.
When preparing celeriac, remember that it may discolour quickly, though
modern varieties seem less prone to this, so melt the butter or warm the
oil in which you are going to cook it so that you can coat the freshly
peeled pieces as you cut them.
The outer stems of celery are often stringy so remove some of the tough
strings by cutting across the base of the stem from inner convex side
towards the outer concave side and catching the strings with the edge of
the knife just before you completely cut through them, then pull gently
but firmly towards the leaf end and they should pull away from the stem.
The inner leaves of both celery and celeriac are tender and tasty and,
left raw and finely chopped, make a useful garnish. When making celery
or celeriac soup incorporate some of the leaves to intensify the
flavour. Raw celery leaves go well with soft cheese in a dip and add
lend their aroma to greens fritters.
There is also celery leaf, a plant usually grown in the herb garden,
that will produce tender, usable leaves for most of the year without
bolting into flower; these can be used as flavouring or garnish or added
to winter salads.
If you grow your own celery why not use some of the leaves to make
celery salt? Wash the leaves you are going to use if they are muddy and
shake dry. Spread them out on a wire rack in an airy place, not too hot,
until they are dry. This may take a few days. Then crumble them and mix
with coarse sea salt. Store in a screw topped jar and use this salt when
you are cooking celery dishes to give extra punch.