Celery root, a.k.a. celeriac, is a weird-looking vegetable (a root vegetable, obviously). It’s a bit weird-tasting too, but it sort of grows on you. We think people are less familiar with it than beets and parsnips because it’s really ugly and it takes some scrubbing to get it clean. If you’re brave enough to buy one, you won’t regret it.

Celery root is pretty versatile. It can be eaten raw in salads (e.g. Trufflehead Chicken Waldorf Salad) and slaws (e.g. Red Cabbage and Celery Root Slaw) or cooked in soups, stews, and braised dishes. It can be boiled or roasted, just as you would beets or parsnips. In fact, our recipe for roasted celery root will appear in the next Truffehead update.

It’s at its best from the fall through early spring, so January is prime time. Some people think it tastes like regular celery, but we don’t agree. Its flavor is unique, but it goes well with celery—which you’ll discover if you make Trufflehead’s Double Celery Soup.

When shopping for celery root, keep these things in mind: You want them to feel solid, not spongy at the stalk end, and heavy for size. They should be without bruises or signs of decay. Avoid any that are tinged with green. For easy peeling and less waste, choose more uniform, rounder shapes. If you wrap them in plastic, they’ll keep for a few weeks in the fridge.