North Cyprus Vegetables - Kereviz

Celeriac, or as it is known in Turkish - Kereviz. Celeriac is a member of the celery family, and when peeled smells and tastes of celery, but when cooked it has a much milder and sweeter flavour. It is high in Vitamin C, as well as magnesium and potassium. If you do not know how to cook it properly, it can be very bitter. It is a good root vegetable to use in stews, or you can grate it, then blanch it to eat with salads.


When choosing a celeriac, you need to make sure it is very firm with no soft spots, a medium sized one is best. If the leaves are still attached, they should be bright green and fresh. You can store whole celeriac for around a week in a cool and dark place before using (with the leaves removed). You can wash and then chop the leaves and add to salads for a celery flavour.  

With the root, you need to slice off the skin before using, but do not remove too much, as most of the nutrients are found just below the surface. It is a good idea to immerse it in water with a tiny bit of vinegar or lemon juice to stop it from discolouring if you are not going to use it straight away. You can boil, roast, mash or steam celeriac, and it makes a good stock or soup.

If you want to boil the celeriac, you should chop it, then immerse it straight into boiling water for around 10 minutes rather than putting it in cold water then heating it up, as this reduces the bitterness. To blanch it for use in salads, grate it finely, then drop into boiling water for around a minute, then drain and plunge into cold water before serving. For use in a stew, boil the celeriac for a few minutes in boiling water, then drain and add to the stew at the same time as the potatoes or other root vegetables.