Celeriac, though the ugliest duckling in the brood of ugly ducklings that is root vegetables, has one characteristic that pardons it entirely from its optic misdemeanours – its distinctive flavour. With a peppery quality similar to that of stem celery it’ll come as no surprise that celeriac is actually a variety of celery, cultivated across several continents for its enlarged hypocotyl (no prizes for guessing which bit that is). As with most root vegetables, celeriac can be prepared in any number of ways, though it is most commonly found in soup as a result of its powerful flavour and pleasing texture. It you’d like to try it in another form, you could try adding it to my root vegetable mash.

If you’ve taken a sneak peek at the recipe below before reading this paragraph (shame on you) you’ll have quickly realised that it is far from vegan. However, all is not lost for the vegetable fetishists amongst you as it is perfectly acceptable to forego the cream and butter and a little more water and another small potato. Of course, things won’t be quite the same but the flavour of the soup will remain constant and astound you with its peppery verve.

Historically, I’ve never celebrated St. Valentine’s Day here – the whole idea seems to have become a bit forced – last year’s recipe was for olive tapenade. On this day you must either wine and dine your significant other, or fall into a self-inflicted depressive reverie and ingest inordinate amounts of chocolate. The weight of social expectation to do one of these two things has become a little daft – why not love one another equally every day and go for a far cheaper, more pleasant, meal the day after? Still, if you insist on adhering to this now absurd social convention* you could do worse than make my delicious chocolate truffles! Either way, bon appetit!

*Valentine’s Day doesn’t actually cause me as much consternation as I may suggest.

Celeriac Soup {recipe}

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 2 onions, finely diced

• 2 sticks of celery, finely diced

• 2 medium potatoes, diced

• 2 cloves of garlic, mashed

• ½ a large celeriac, peeled and cubed

• 1 litre vegetables stock

• 150ml single cream

• 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

• A knob of butter

• Olive oil

• Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Heat a knob of butter and dash of olive oil in a large soup pan. Lightly fry the onions, celery and garlic until translucent, before adding the potato and celeriac.

2. Tip in the vegetables stock and simmer gently until all of the vegetables are soft through. Blend the soup using a stick blender or food processor, pour in the cream and parsley and season to taste. Serve with a drizzle of rapeseed oil and a little bread.

Cost: Celeriac must be one of the cheapest root vegetables around – the large half I bought set me back a mere 65p. Let’s face it, root vegetables are generally inexpensive which is why they make fantastic ingredients and jolly frugal soup. Indeed, the entire pot which is probably way too much for four should set one back no more than around £2.50!