imitation potato

tara40

Loves Norman Reedus
can anyone help. a lady was telling me about a recipe that she saw on tv whereby they were using something else instead of a potato and it was lower in fat. it was about the size of a cricket ball and the skin was very lumpy. any suggestions????
 
About Celeriac
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What is celeriac? It's an autumn / winter root crop, which is quite pungent and can be bitter, if not cooked properly, but has a great ability to absorb flavours, for example in soups and stews.

It is related to celery, but liking celery doesn't guarantee you'll like celeriac and hating celery doesn't mean you won't like celeriac!

It is thought that celeriac didn't make it to the UK until the 18th century, but even now its a little-known veggie and most of us don't know what to do with it...

Did you know...?
Celeriac is one of the most likely veg box veggies to end up in the compost bin...

Celeriac is high in vitamin C, as well as calcium and potassium, which helps you absorb the calcium. So it's worth tucking in, if you find a recipe you like.

Cooking Celeriac
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Knowing how to prepare celeriac makes all the difference to its taste.

The root should be peeled before using, but don't peel it too much, as many of the nutrients lie just below the skin. Cut it into cubes and boil for about 10 minutes, until soft. Some prefer to salt the water, first.

You can also eat the leaves. Just chop them in a salad for a gentle, celery taste.

Peel and slice it just before cooking, as it quickly discolours. Sprinkling with lemon juice can help it keep its white colour, but obviously impacts the taste!

Always add celeriac straight to boiling water and bring back to the boil, rather than adding it to cold water and heating up. This seems to make it less bitter and reduces the pungency of the flavour.

For soups, you might prefer to boil the celeriac for a few minutes and then discard the water, before adding the celeriac to the other vegetables. This can help reduce bitterness.

If you want to use celeriac "raw", shredded in a salad, it's worth putting it in boiling water for 1 minute first and then plunging into cold water, to reduce the bitterness.

I've used it before - difficult to peel but tastes like mash potato with a celery taste!
 
i dont know. i shall ask her. she said that it was a show where someone went to a house as the whole family ate nothing but spuds, so she was showing her alternatives and she used the veg and made it kind of like a roast potato dish.
hmm this looks interesting, i might give it a go anyway.
thanks x

oh i only like celery in stews and soups, so might like this.
 
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Jerusalem Artichoke - they're like nobbly sick looking new potatoes. I think i've seen them use them instead of potatoes on some healthy eating programmes before.

Personally i find butternut squash is a good alternative, and Celeriac too!
 
Celeriac is lovely - you can braise it with a little stock, garlic and thyme.

Or I make it into coleslaw - grate it and mix it with grated carrot, spring onion, a couple of spoonfuls of 0% Greek yogurt, some extra-low fat mayo, some wholegrain mustard and a spoon of white wine vinegar. Lovely low-fat and really tasty,

You can also mash cooked cauliflower with a little milk and season and have instead of mashed potato.

Get cooking!!!

Carol x
 
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