Celery cream

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 500 g celeriac
• 2 shallots, finely diced
• 100 g butter
• 1 tbsp Noilly Prat
• 500 ml vegetable stock
• 4 sheets of gelatin or agar-agar for vegetarians
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• salt and pepper
• 150 g sweet cream
• 50 ml vegetable oil

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Rest time approx. 4 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 4 hours 50 minutes

an unusual starter

Peel the celery and slice it into six thin slices. Fry in hot vegetable oil until light brown. Dry on kitchen paper and set aside for later. Dice the rest of the celery. First, fry the diced shallots in the melted butter until translucent, then add the celery pieces and fry for a few more minutes. Deglaze with the Noilly Prat, pour in the stock until the celery is just covered, and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Soak the gelatine in cold water, squeeze out the excess liquid, and dissolve it in the hot, but no longer boiling, stock. Purée with a hand blender, pass it through a sieve, and season with apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate until the mixture begins to set. Fold in the stiffly whipped cream and let the mixture set in the refrigerator for a few hours. To serve, cut out dumplings from the celery cream and insert a celery chip for decoration. If you want a bit of contrast, you can serve the celery cream with two spoonfuls of broad beans cooked with onions, bacon and tomato pieces.