Celeriac is not a pretty vegetable – it looks a bit like Warren Clarke after a rough night – but its rugged looks no reflection on its delicate flavour.

Like the celery, its kissing cousin, it’s a plant that likes a lot of water, so we grow ours in a raised bed, planting through a plastic sheet with slits cut in it to accommodate the seedlings. This serves three purposes:

1. It conserves water so we don’t need to visit our allotment every day in the summer

2. It keeps down weeds – this year I only had to pull two weeds from the bed

3. It makes it easier to control slugs – I sprinkle sand and used coffee grounds on top of the plastic to deter (and dehydrate) the slimy things.

It bulbs up, to form a large ‘root’ (which is isn’t a root because it grows above ground) which you then peel and chop or grate – if you’re chopping or slicing it, put the pieces into cold water with a squirt of lemon juice to keep it from oxidising. The stems of celeriac are as tough as old boots, so I don't recommend eating them, but the leaves make a pretty garnish for a lot of dishes.

Celeriac can be eaten in a number of ways: grated in a salad or coleslaw, boiled and pureed in a soup, mashed etc. It’s a great stew ingredient too.

Pork and Celeriac casserole

2 leeks

2 carrots

Olive oil

About a kilo of shoulder pork

2 small or 1 large celeriac - around a kilo when peeled and diced

2 minced garlic cloves

Dry white wine

Chicken stock

Fresh herbs (I like winter savoury, sage and rosemary)

Preheat the oven to 140C and slice the leek and carrots. Fry the pork in some olive oil until it is brown, then transfer meat to a plate, add a little more oil and fry the leeks, carrots and celeriac until they just begin to brown, adding the garlic for a final minute of frying.

Transfer the meat and the vegetables to a casserole dish or slow cooker and pour on enough wine and stock (about 50/50 of each) to cover. Add herbs and stir and then cook for 2 hours in the oven, or 6 hours in a slow cooker.

Serves 4.