MASHED CELERIAC RECIPES

Steps:

• For the soup, heat a large frying pan or saucepan until medium hot, add 25g/1oz of the butter, the onion and bacon and fry for a couple of minutes to just soften. Add the garlic, leek, celery and thyme sprigs and fry for another minute; then add the chopped celeriac. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the celeriac is just tender.
• Blend the soup to a fine purée using a stick blender or a blender. Return to the heat in a pan. Add the cream and whisk in the remaining 50g/2oz of butter.
• Season with salt and white pepper. Serve the hot soup in bowls, or keep it warm in the pan if making the garnish.
• For the optional garnish, fry the pancetta until crisp then set aside. Return the frying pan to the heat, add half the butter and the olive oil and heat until foaming. Add the celeriac and stir fry for 1-2 minutes, or until just softened, then remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper. Add the rest of the butter and the bread to the pan and cook until golden-brown and crisp, tossing to cook on each side. Drain on a plate lined with kitchen paper and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. To serve, pile the julienned celeriac into the centre of each of four soup plates. Ladle the soup around. Crumble the crispy bacon over the top and then scatter over the croutons. Finish with swirls of extra virgin olive oil and cream.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine salt, pepper and allspice. Add oxtail to bowl and rub the mixture all over the meat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Heat an 8-quart Dutch oven, or a heavy soup pot with a lid, over medium-high heat. Add oil and warm through. Add as many oxtail pieces as you can fit in a single layer without overcrowding the pot. Sear, turning occasionally, until the meat is uniformly golden brown all over, including the sides. Transfer meat to a plate; repeat until you’ve browned all the oxtail.
• Add shallot to the pan drippings and cook over medium heat until lightly caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add carrot and celery root and cook 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and two-thirds of the garlic (save the rest for garnish) and cook 1 minute.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Pour wine and stock into pot. Bundle parsley sprigs, rosemary branches and bay leaves with kitchen twine and drop into pot. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook over medium heat until liquid has reduced by half, about 15 minutes.
• Return oxtail to pot and bring to a simmer. Cover pot and transfer to oven. Cook, turning oxtails every 30 minutes, until meat is fork tender, 3 to 3 1/2 hours.
• Transfer oxtails to a plate. Spoon off fat from surface of pan juices and discard (there will be a lot of it). Toss oxtails with remaining pan gravy. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. In a small bowl, toss together chopped parsley, garlic, lemon zest and a pinch of salt. Scatter mixture over oxtails and garnish with the celery leaves, if using, before serving.