Celeriac, Kale and Apple Risotto

When my husband brought home a couple of celeriac from work the other day, I have to admit I wondered what would I do with it all?

After a few days of brainstorming I decided celeriac risotto wod be worth a try and my husband suggested this method.

Luckily for us this Celeriac, Kale and Apple Risotto was delicious. It’s a basic risotto cooked in a creamy celeriac puree and white wine, mixed with winter kale and topped with roasted shallots and apple.

I thought I’d share it with you if you’re looking for something new to cook this Veganuary or just incase you are struggling with what to do with a celeriac too!

INGREDIENTS

1 Celeriac

18 Shallots

A Large Handful of Kale

1 Apple

Half a Lemon

1.5 Cups Risotto Rice

1.5 Cups White Wine (I’ve used an Aldi Vouvray)

1 Pint Almond Milk

A Handful Fresh Sage

1 Teaspoon Garlic Puree

A Pinch of Salt

Rapeseed Oil

A Teaspoon Caster Sugar

METHOD

Slice the skin off the celeriac and dice it into 2cm cubes. I find its easiest to first slice the base off the celeriac so you have a stable base to put on the chopping board, then you can just slice down the edges to remove the skin.

Place the cubed celeriac into a large pan, pour over the pint of almond milk and a pint of water. The milk helps to give the risotto a creamier texture and keeps the colour of the celeriac.

Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon and add then drop in the lemon. Finally crumble a vegetable stock cube into the pan, drop in a handful of sage and large pinch of salt.

Put the pan over a medium heat and bring to a simmer for approximately 30 minutes to cook the celeriac.

Preheat your oven to 200°C.

While the celeriac is cooking, peel and dice 15 shallots. Place the shallots in a deep frying pan with a good slosh of rapeseed oil. Place over a medium heat and stir intermittently until the shallots have softened.

Add the risotto rice to the frying pan, mix the rice into the shallots and let it cook off for a few minutes before adding in the white wine.

Leave the pan to simmer until the rice absorbs all the wine, stirring regularly so it doesn’t stick.

While the rice is cooking, peel and halve the remaining shallots and dice the apple. Place on a baking sheet with some rapeseed oil and the caster sugar, toss together then place in the oven for approximately 10 minutes. They should soften slightly and get some colour.

Take the lemon out of the celeriac pot and pour the remaining contents into a blender. Blend until smooth.

Add the celeriac puree into the frying pan with the risotto and stir through. Leave to simmer until the risotto rice is cooked through then rip in the kale and stir to combine it.

Place the risotto into your serving bowl, then scoop some of the roasted apple and shallots on top. Drizzle over some oil and add a few slivers of parmesan to make it pretty.

If you want to keep the risotto vegan you could leave the parmesan off or use a vegan parmesan style cheese.

Enjoy!