I have recently become extremely fond of cooking – I have no idea why! – and I recently discovered celeriac (celery root), too.
Following a Jamie Oliver recipe called Zombie Brain, I roasted a whole celeriac (after cleaning and washing) with the skin on and it was delicious; however, my question is this:
Is it "better" – in terms of eating experience, I guess – to remove the skin of a celeriac before cooking or is it just as nice to cook the celeriac with the skin on?
Personally, I have only ever cooked celeriac the once and found the resulting meal to be quite delicious. However, I have also read a lot of other recipes which almost conclusively advice that the skin is removed before cooking (I am now thinking that perhaps I'd read the recipe wrong, but it hasn't done me or my wife any harm, so I'm not too worried about that for the time being).
Many thanks
Best Answer
I too have that Jamie Oliver book (try the roast beef then make the Rendang, amazing), and you are reading the recipe correctly. There is no problem leaving the skin on providing you've washed all the soil off. In this recipe it adds to the 'zombie brain' look, but if you cooking something a bit more refined you might want to take it off so it looks better.
Also, many celeriac recipes involved mashing it, in which case taking the skin off aids that process.