One of my own no-waste rules was broken recently. Half (or worse, five eighths, you judge) of a celeriac was cooked and the remainder was starting to grow a little fluffy black mould in the fridge.

Interesting an experiment though this may have been, it wasn’t what I had in mind.

Prompted by a recent browse through my food snaps, which revealed a butternut squash & mixed grain bake I made some years ago, I knew I’d struck gold when I remembered the last of a packet of pearl barley being pushed further and further to the back of the cupboard. I felt like I’d united two pieces of some sort of store cupboard jigsaw.

The recipe mixes mashed celeriac with cooked pearl barley then bakes briefly to get a crispy top. This concept makes for a useful side dish when you have neither enough root veg nor enough of any one grain to go round. Also a sneaky way of swapping some carbs for some veg.

More or less any root veg, roasted & pureed, will work (squash, pumpkin, carrot) – 100% parsnip may be a little sweet but could work as a mix with other veg.

The grain needs to have a reasonable bite so I’d stick to either pearl barley, or its usually-quicker-cooking doppelganger farro, or brown rice. I think bulgur wheat or smaller grains would make for a slightly too wet mix.

 

Keep the cheese topping dry to avoid a greasy dish – pecorino, parmesan or manchego should work. Or a salty ricotta if you can find one. I made use of a lovely wine-washed pecorino which was a Christmas gift, I think from the cheese shop in Borough Market.

The trick of using a fine grater & strong cheese means that you can get the flavour without making it too unhealthy. The Hairy Bikers are the kings of this in their Hairy Dieters series.

Finally, if it all sounds like it will take ages, either make ahead & freeze or at least leave the veg in the oven on a timer so that it is roasted by the time you step through the door.

Serve this with any meat or fish as you would potatoes- just pick a root that suits your dish. The celeriac worked well with lamb steaks.

Read the recipe here or see the highlights below.