Celeriac – a swollen root and member of the celery family – has a flavour somewhere between sweet earth and hazelnuts and for me, it is one of the most versatile vegetables there is.
Here, layers of thinly sliced celeriac are baked with potatoes, double cream, Quicke's mature cheddar and a little garlic. I add salty anchovies because they bring a real depth, and a touch of rosemary. It’s wonderful with roast lamb.
Ingredients
- 500g celeriac
- 500g white potatoes
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
- 1 - 2 fresh red chillies, finely chopped (or 1 tsp dried chilli flakes)
- 6 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
- 100g Quicke's Mature Clothbound Cheddar, grated
- 1 large sprig rosemary, leaves finely chopped
- Salt and black pepper
- 500ml double cream
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160°c and use a little oil to lightly grease a medium-sized gratin dish.
- Peel the celeriac and slice it very thinly (2p-piece thickness is good). Do the same with the potato and place them both in a large mixing bowl.
- Put the cream, garlic, chilli, anchovy and rosemary into a saucepan set over a medium heat. Bring to the simmer, then pour this hot infused cream over the celeriac and potato.
- Sprinkle in two-thirds of the cheese and season everything really well with lots of salt and pepper. Tumble everything together.
- Layer the celeriac and potato up as evenly as you can in the prepared dish. Pour over any cream from the bowl and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.
- Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until tender inside and golden and bubbling on top.
Recipe by Gill Meller.
