Megan says: “Celeriac is already a fairly sweet vegetable, but I love what the maple syrup does to the flavour in this recipe, and then it’s all the better for the addition of the salty feta. It’s wonderfully simple and very satisfying.”

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 celeriac (about 800g) 
• 4 tablespoons maple syrup (honey is the best swap, or date syrup or agave)
• 100g feta (or mozzarella, goat’s cheese or ricotta)
• 5 g parsley (or any fresh herb, it’s just to freshen things up)
• olive oil, for roasting
• extra virgin olive oil, for serving
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C.

Trim the base of the celeriac, then thinly slice down the side of the celeriac with your knife in order to peel the skin (rinse, then freeze the peel and add to your next stock). Cut the celeriac into two to three cm thick wedges and place on a large baking sheet (you may need to use two sheets).

Drizzle the maple syrup over the celeriac, following by a good drizzle of olive oil and a very generous scattering of seasoning. Toss to coat and then place on the top shelf of the oven. Let the wedges roast for about one hour, turning halfway through – they’re ready when golden, tender and smelling amazing.

Place them on a serving dish and top with the feta (just crumble it with your hands), then tear the parsley on top too. Give it all a brief and loose toss to lightly fold everything together, then serve with a final drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Goes well with:
This is just lovely on its own for lunch, or serve it with roasted chicken thighs for a wholesome supper.

Leftover:
This is really lovely made into a ‘leftovers frittata’ or piled into sandwiches.

From Fridge Raid by Megan Davies (Ryland Peters & Small, £18.99), out now

Jo says: “It may not be the prettiest of vegetables, but when peeled and cooked, celeriac has the most amazing flavour. Similar to celery, but with a sweet, nutty taste, it goes really nicely with the mellow creaminess of butter beans. If you want to create a real talking point, you can spruce up your soup by scattering some truffle and cheese-flavoured popcorn over the top. The popcorn is really easy to make and tastes unbelievably good.”

Serves 4–6

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 25g butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 celeriac, peeled and diced into approx. 2.cm pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 litre vegetable stock
• 400g tin butter beans, drained
• flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the popcorn:

• sunflower oil
• 40g popping corn
• 25g finely grated parmesan cheese or vegetarian equivalent
• 1 tbsp truffle oil
• flaked sea salt

Method

Put the oil and butter in a medium–large saucepan over a gentle heat. When the butter has melted, add the onion and sauté for about five minutes until it is starting to soften but not colour.

Stir in the celeriac, garlic and bay leaf. Continue to cook for just a few minutes before adding the stock and butter beans. Increase the heat, bring to the boil and cover with a lid. Reduce the heat and gently simmer for 15–20 minutes until the celeriac is completely tender.

Remove the bay leaf, cool slightly and blend until you have a completely smooth, creamy soup. If the soup seems too thick, add some more stock, or even a splash of milk. Season with salt and pepper.

To make the popcorn, put a medium saucepan over a high heat. Once it’s hot, add just enough oil to cover the surface (about two tablespoons should be plenty). Stir in the corn, coat in the hot oil, then cover the saucepan with a lid. Wait for the popping to start, then shake the pan a few times over the next minute or so until the popping stops.

Remove the pan from the heat. Transfer to a bowl, scatter over the parmesan, a pinch of salt and drizzle over the truffle oil. Toss well to combine.

Spoon the soup into bowls and scatter some popcorn on top of each one, offering any extra popcorn separately.

Flexible:
Stir shredded ham hock through the cooked soup and gently warm until heated through. A good handful per person should be plenty.

From The Flexible Vegetarian by Jo Pratt (Frances Lincoln, £20), out now

Alan says: “I love how Sichuan food often balances comforting mild, silky textures and flavours with hot, fiery chilli and I’ve tried to emulate this here. Celeriac is first slow braised in a flavourful buttery broth until it’s soft and velvety. Chilli oil brings a hit of spice to the dish while crunchy peanuts and creamy tahini add texture and balance that nods to its Sichuan inspiration. I often serve this with plain brown rice.”

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 750ml hot vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp miso paste
• 30g unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 1 large celeriac (about 1kg)
• 175g fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 175g cavolo nero, cut into 2.5cm pieces across the stem
• 4 tbsp tahini
• sea salt
• 40g roasted salted peanuts
• 2 spring onions
• chiu chow chilli oil
• cooked brown rice, to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C. 

In a jug, mix the vegetable stock with the miso, butter and garlic.

Using a large knife, cut the base from the celeriac to remove the knobbly roots. Place the celeriac, cutside down, on the chopping board and carefully cut away the skin, following the contours from top to bottom until only white flesh remains.

Place the celeriac, flat side down, in your deep pot. Pour over the stock and miso mixture and throw in the shiitake mushrooms, tearing any large ones in half.

Pop the lid on and place in the oven. Cook for two hours, basting the celeriac twice during this time with the pot juices. After two hours, remove the pot from the oven and baste again.

Scatter the cavolo nero around the celeriac, pushing it into the broth as much as possible, allowing the celeriac to poke out in the middle. Pop the pot back in the oven, without the lid, and roast again for 10 minutes, giving it a shake halfway through and pushing the green leaves down into the pot juices to allow them to cook evenly.

Meanwhile, mix the tahini with four tbsp water and a generous pinch of salt to create a sesame dressing the thickness of double cream. Lightly crush the peanuts in a mortar and pestle and finely slice the spring onions (scallions).

Once the cooking time is up, remove the celeriac from the pot and transfer to a chopping board. Cut it into halves and then each half into six wedges. Pop back into the pot, allowing the cavolo and mushrooms to settle among the wedges.

Drizzle with the sesame dressing and a little chilli oil and sprinkle with the sliced spring onions and crushed peanuts.

From Foolproof One-Pot by Alan Rosenthal (Quadrille, £12.99), out now