From stalk to stalk

From stalk to stalk
Magazine: May 2008

The chef recommends
DELICACIES _Celeriac should not weigh more than 500 g or be too mature. The root is should be compact and undamaged. Stalk celery should be fi rmly closed with long, healthy, bright green leaves without bruises and brownish marks. Verona celery can be blanched and frozen. SUGGESTIONS _In salads, lettuce and onions are perfect with raw celeriac. Thick slices can be fried in breadcrumbs and fi lled with cheese, ham and porcini mushrooms. The roots are perfect for puree. For celery “boats “ stuffed with fresh pecorino, pine nuts or pistachio and paprika, the stalks are left in the fridge for 30 minutes before being fi lled. “Alla romana”, whole stalks are laid in a pan and covered with broth, the reduction from roast meat and gravy of pork rind; once cooked, they are served with a glazed sauce.

In spring, celeriac or sedano di Verona passes the title of seasonal vegetable onto other members of its family. This tasty vegetable, gathered until March, is cultivated for its large bulbous roots, which reveal a slightly spicy fl esh under the tough wrinkly skin. «Celeriac is peeled and eaten raw or cooked and also grated into sauces», explains Rocco Arici, chef of the ‘Massimo d’Azeglio’, one of the most well known restaurants in Rome. This Verona celery can weigh more than a kilo, whilst the other vegetables in the group are more compact. The classic type of celery with stalks and green leafy head is characterised by small, juicy curved stems that can be used “fi lled up” with savoury dips or empty; or the summer leafy version called sedanina, similar to the wild ancestor, strong and bitter in taste. Stick celery can be green with long, strong stalks and highly pungent or yellow-white and lightly crunchy with a delicate and fresh fl avour. A special type of cultivation is the black celery from Trevi, which is actually white because it is buried to let it grow away from light, without any pigmentation formation. The name of this Umbrian speciality, lightly perfumed, without fi laments and with a tender “heart” refers to the brown colour that the stalks would have if they were not subject to the whitening process.