Market Report - Celery Root, Salsify

Laura Avery meets up with chef and Good Food friend Jean François Méteigner of La Cachette restaurant. Jean Francois describes the underappreciated vegetables: salsify and celeriac.

This light but intensely oystery soup was inspired by a recipe from Joanne Hendricks, the proprietor of the eponymous vintage-cookbook store in New York City. Salsify is a root vegetable shaped like a skinny parsnip; it has blackish skin with white flesh and tastes a little like artichoke hearts. If you have trouble finding it (in fact, Carroll and Wingate had to ask architect Charles Renfro to bring some to Boston from New York), you can substitute Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes) or, as a last resort, the pedestrian potato.

ingredients

Directions

Celeriac is a vegetable that is a member of the celery family, but only its root can be eaten. It is also known as celery root, knob celery, and turnip rooted celery, celeriac has a taste that is similar to a blend of celery and parsley. When purchasing fresh celeriac, you can identify the celeriac by its large, bulbous root that grows to an average of 3.5 inches in length. Rough green stalks surround this root, which is light brown in color. When selecting a celeriac, choose only those with firm and small to medium-sized roots. Selecting smaller roots is better because smaller roots produce a more flavorful root taste. Additionally, although celeriac stalks and leaves are typically not eaten, make sure that the celeriac you purchase has leaves that are green and that are not wilted.

Music Break: The Rally - Sound Studio Orchestra