Veg au vin

In general I am loathe to vegetarian dishes that use ‘meat substitutes’. But recently I considered whether one could make a reasonable vegetarian version of coq au vin. I think I succeeded – using celeriac chunks instead of chicken. Since it tasted rather good I forgave myself for breaching my usual meat substitute rule – at least I used a real vegetable, rather than a highly processed veggie product. I hope you will also like this dish – and forgive me!

1 kg celeriac, peeled and cut into large 3-5 cm chunks

1 dl dried borlotti beans, cooked (feel free to substitute for some other suitable bean)

300 g shallots, halved (use onions instead, if you prefer, cut into 1/8 wedges)

300 g mushrooms, quarted or halved depending on size

1 bottle of red wine

1 glass* of brandy (optional)

1 bouquet garni (alternative, some sprigs of fresh thyme and a bay leaf)

15 g + 45 g of butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp plain flour

Salt and pepper

Using a large casserole, start by cooking the onion in 15 g of butter and the olive oil. Add the celeriac chunks once the onions start to soften (this is after about 5 min.) and fry over medium-high heat until they brown. You may need to do this in batches, in which case place the cooked chunks and onion on a plate while you cook the next batch. Once all the celeriac is cooked, add it all back in to the casserole, adding also the bouquet garni, the borlotti beans, the brandy (if using) and the wine. It needs to more or less cover the celeriac. If it does not, add some more wine or use water. The cover with a lid and simmer gently for 40 min. to 1 hour.

Meanwhile fry the mushroom quarters in olive oil. Add this to the stew at the end of the cooking time – I usually allow it to have approximately 10 min.

The second thing to take care of while the dish is cooking is to mix the last 45 g butter with the flour, until it is fully blended, then cut it into small pieces ca 5 mm across.

I hope you still have time to put your feet up – now would be a good time 🙂.

Once the celeriac is nice and tender – test it with a sharp knife: it should go in without much resistance – remove the celeriac, onion, beans and mushrooms and keep it warm. I do this by placing it on a plate in an oven at 120C. Then boil the remaining liquid to reduce it somewhat. Now add the butter-flour cubes from earlier and reduce the heat again, stirring until the cubes have melted into the sauce. Bring briefly to a boil, then add the veggies back in. At this stage you should avoid letting the dish boil again, but do keep it simmering gently until you are ready to eat.

I personally like serving it with potatoes – this could be (garlic) mashed potatoes, plain boiled potatoes or even roast potatoes. And despite all the vegetables already in the dish, I still like to serve a nice veggie on the side 🙂. Try roast carrots or broccoli, either works well and gives a nice colour contrast.