celery root

also known as celeriac. wikipedia says it's a kind of celery, and people just use the root part instead of the top part.
it's a rather unprepossessing creature:

the outside smelled vaguely of curry powder. this seemed really random and possibly accidental, but i sniffed them out in a couple of stores and it held true.

the celery root was really hard to cut into. but ... that turned out to be because it was frozen.

the center had a geodelike cavity. don't think this is entirely normal.

raw and plain, it really did taste a lot like mealy celery.

and here's what it looked like prepared:

the picture is so hideous i had to use it. in reality, everything was a peaceful beige color. but i couldn't figure out how to correct for the light with my camera. so the food looks pink.

and now for the flavor ...

it's quite good. on the left, you have a raw salad with fennel and apple (www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Celery-Root-and-Apple-Salad-with-Hazelnut-Vinaigrette-357255 ; note: cut the pieces smaller than i did. there was a lot of chewiness going on.) - it tasted a lot like waldorf salad, with a coleslaw texture. i used walnut oil, because i had it already. i've never had hazelnut oil, so i don't know how much difference it made.

on the right, a cooked puree with a bit of potato and onion (www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Celery-Root-Puree-236200). this tasted like thanksgiving. rich, creamy, and salty, with a celery potato flavor.