Salt baked celeriac

Salt baked celeriac

Assuming whole celeriac baked in a salt crust until tender, served with brown butter, hazelnuts and perhaps a little truffle or apple.

Salt baked celeriac is earthy, nutty and gently sweet, with a savoury depth close to mushroom and a rich, buttery finish. It wants a white with a round texture and nutty, savoury character to mirror it, and enough acidity for the butter. Sharp, aromatic whites and tannic reds clash with the earthy flavour.

Pairs Perfectly. Chardonnay, Meursault, Burgundy, France. Hazelnut, butter and ripe citrus with gentle oak and fresh acidity, a close mirror of brown butter and roasted root. Mâcon-Villages gives the same logic at a more accessible price and is easy to find.

Pairs Well. Fiano di Avellino, Campania, Italy. Hazelnut, pear and a waxy texture with a fresh finish, a southern Italian white with the body for a rich vegetable dish.

Pairs Well. Savagnin from the Jura, France, in the fresh, topped up style. Dry, nutty and savoury with bright acidity, which meets the earthy celeriac and the hazelnuts.

Worth Seeking Out

An orange wine, preferably a long macerated, oxidative Ribolla Gialla from Oslavia, Friuli, Italy, for example a Radikon Oslavje or a Gravner Breg. Dried fruit, nut and gentle grip give a savoury depth that suits an earthy root.

Avoid

Sharp aromatic whites and tannic reds. Grassy aromatics clash with the earthiness and tannin turns bitter.

Failing That

A Chablis, Burgundy.

If All Else Fails

Albariño, Rías Baixas.

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