Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for roast celeriac with chive chilli oil

From theguardian.com 

This recipe, a tribute to the Taiwanese film Eat Drink Man Woman, pairs soft, creamy slices of roast celeriac with a spicy, salty and sharp dressing

Eat Drink Man Woman is a Taiwanese film about a man who, in an act of fatherly love, cooks beautiful and elaborate Sunday feasts for his three daughters. Unfortunately, most of the food goes untouched as family conflicts and life events compete for attention at the dinner table. The film left me utterly ravenous and in need of my own extravagant meal. In this recipe, the celeriac, after slow roasting, becomes intensely savoury, creamy and meltingly sweet – the perfect canvas for the brute of a salty, sour and crunchy dressing, or your own family drama.

Roast celeriac with chive chilli oil

Meera Sodha’s roasted celeriac with chive chilli oil. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian. Food styling: Emily Kydd. Prop styling: Jennifer Kay. Food styling assistant: Susanna Unsworth. Photo assistant: Sophie Bronze

You can find Chinese black vinegar, also known as Chinkiang vinegar, at most east Asian supermarkets and online.

Prep 5 min
Cook 1 hr 45 min
Serves 4

For the celeriac
1 celeriac (750g gross)
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
¾ tsp fine sea salt
Jasmine rice, to serve

For the oil
1 tbsp cornflour
75ml light soy sauce (5 tbsp)
4 tbsp crispy chilli in oil
3 tbsp black rice vinegar
50g salted roast peanuts, very finely chopped
3 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
2cm x 4cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
50g chives, finely chopped

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/350F/gas 4, then take a look at your celeriac. If it’s gnarly and covered with soil, wash and scrub it. Once clean, remove any hairy bits with a paring knife, then peel if you’d rather not eat the skin (I often don’t bother). Put the celeriac on a sheet of foil large enough to wrap it in, then rub all over first with the oil and then the salt. . Wrap the celeriac in the foil, pop the parcel on an oven tray and bake for an hour and a half.

Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a bowl, combine the cornflour with 50ml water (that’s a splash over three tablespoons), add the soy sauce, crispy chilli oil and black vinegar, and put to one side.

Put the peanuts in a dry medium saucepan on a medium heat and toast, stirring frequently so the small pieces don’t catch, for four to five minutes, until deep golden brown. Tip out into a small, heatproof bowl.

Pour the sesame oil and rapeseed oil into the same saucepan and, when hot, add the ginger and garlic, and cook, stirring, for three minutes. Throw in half the chives, cook, still stirring, for a minute, then tip in the soy mixture, cook, stirring, for a minute, then take off the heat.

Unwrap the celeriac and put it on a board. Turn it upside down, so the caramelised bottom is now on top, then cut into 1½cm-thick slices. Fan out the slices on a shallow lipped plate, then pour the sauce all over the top and sprinkle first with the remaining chives and then the chopped peanuts. Serve with hot jasmine rice.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/oct/28/meera-sodha-vegan-recipe-roast-celeriac-chive-chilli-oil