No tinsel, reindeer or Christmas pudding involved

By request, a quick recipe. Note, it's not a Festive Recipe. There's no tinsel, reindeer or Christmas pudding involved.

This makes the most of the subtle, peppery flavour of celeriac. One of my favourite veg. It works well as a nice simple starter or you can add some fried, smoked pancetta and make more of a meal of it.

Celeriac veloute.

You will need:
One shallot, one stick of celery and one large clove of garlic, all coarsely chopped.
Olive oil for frying.
About 500g of celeriac, scrubbed, peeled and cut into small chunks.
500ml of vegetable stock.
Double cream to taste (50-100 ml is plenty)
Some flavoured oil to serve - garlic, chilli or truffle infused all works well.

In a heavy saucepan large enough to hold all the ingredients gently (I mean it) fry the shallot, celery and garlic in the oil. You definitely don't want them colouring, be patient and fry them for about 30 mins until they're sticky and translucent but not brown. If they go brown and crunchy start again (I mean it).

Add the celeriac, turn down the heat and cover and sweat the veg for about 5 minutes. Again, it shouldn't be colouring.

Add the stock, cover and simmer gently until the celeriac is cooked through. Leave to cool for a while and then whizz the whole lot up in a blender or food processor. Once it looks smooth pass it through a sieve or chinois to get the gritty bits out.

Return to the saucepan, warm through and check the seasoning. This is the point to start adding salt. You'll need more than you think but try and stop just before it tastes of salt and nothing else. Before serving add cream to taste (about 50-100 ml is more than enough). Serve garnished with a few drops of the flavoured oil.

If you want to ramp this up a bit you can add some grated parmesan, either as a garnish or stirred through. Fried smoked pancetta (in little cubes) or bacon lardons work well too. But on its own, you'll get the full flavour of celeriac.