About the Recipe
I always feel an annual tug to give a shout-out to celeriac, also known as celery root. The rough, knobby, alien-like tuber covered in little rootlets is so delicious but often overlooked at the market, usually sitting in a bin right next to its prettier neighbor, the showy kohlrabi, draped in its violet-kissed cardigan. Tasting like a cross between celery, rutabaga, and potato, celeriac thickens up soups and stews when puréed and, in chunks, has a bright taste and pleasant mouthfeel when bitten into. Curiously, while it tastes and grows more like leaf celery, it is botanically related to the carrot (the Apiaceae) family. As such, it is low in calories and is loaded with nutrients, vitamins, and fiber. Store them in a plastic bag in the fridge's veggie drawer. After you pick up your celery root, grab some sausages, bacon, garlic, and kale from our vendors and put up this hearty stew. I'll be eating mine as I hold a tiny funeral for the tender plants I accidentally left out in the frost last weekend.
-Christine, Market VP and roots revivalist
Ingredients
1 lb of pork sausages (any savory variety)Â
¼ lb bacon, (stack and slice into thin strips, called lardons)Â
1 tablespoon olive oilÂ
2 white or yellow onions, halved and slicedÂ
1 big knob of celeriac, peeled and cut into 1-inch piecesÂ
2 garlic cloves, crushed and rough-choppedÂ
1 sprig of thymeÂ
1 bay leafÂ
1 tablespoon tomato pasteÂ
½ cup red wineÂ
3 cups of chicken or meat stockÂ
Dash or two (or 3) of Worcestershire sauceÂ
4 teaspoons of Dijon mustardÂ
1 bunch of kale (any variety), stripped from stalks and cut into ribbonsÂ
14-16 oz can of white beans, rinsed and drained (such as Navy or Cannellni beans)Â
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Preparation
In a large, heavy-based sauté or saucepan on medium heat, cook the sausages and bacon lardons in the oil for five minutes. Remove the sausages to a plate. Cut into 2-inch slices when cool enough to handle.
Add the onions and cook for 10 minutes. Increase the heat to medium high and add the celeriac, stirring frequently to prevent the onions from burning. Add the garlic, herbs, and tomato purée. Stir well for about two minutes. Slowly our and deglaze the pan with red wine to pick up the delicious browned bits (called "fond"), then add the stock, Worcestershire sauce and mustard.
Bring the contents of the pan to a simmer, return the sausages, cover and cook for about 20 minutes. Add the kale to the pan and wilt on top of the other ingredients for 10 minutes, then mix it in. Add the white beans, season with salt and pepper and cook for a further five minutes. Adjust seasonings and serve.