Celery worth seeking out

Serve as a delicious vegetarian supper with baked potatoes or as an accompaniment to roast chicken, game or fish.

But you’ll need to keep your eyes open for this product is different to normal celery and is only available in an eight week window at this time of year.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 head Fenland celery, washed, separated into stalks and cut into approx. 10cm lengths

400ml medium dry cider

2 tbsp cider vinegar

For the Parmesan topping

25g Parmesan cheese, grated

25g Panko breadcrumbs

2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

Method

lPre heat oven 200c/ 180c fan / gas 7. Grease an ovenproof casserole generously with butter, lay the Fenland celery in the dish, pour over the cider and vinegar, and cover with greaseproof paper generously coated in butter and then cover with foil.

lPlace in the oven for 45 minutes, remove the foil and greaseproof paper. Mix together the parmesan, breadcrumbs, parsley and olive oil, sprinkle over the Fenland celery and cook for another 15-20 minutes until the topping is golden.

lCook’s tip: Fenland celery is a heritage variety of celery grown in the Cambridgeshire Fens.

In 2013, Fenland celery was awarded Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status and joined the ranks of Parma ham, Champagne and Melton Mowbray Pork Pies.

Fenland celery is only grown in small pockets of Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk using traditional farming methods.

The deep, peaty soils in the Fens work towards giving Fenland celery its nutty-sweet flavour and paler colour.

Fenland celery is available from October to December and can be found in Waitrose, Ocado, Wholefoods and Marks & Spencer.

For more information on this go to http://www.fenlandcelery.com/