Many of my most pleasing suppers have been one-off, chucked-together affairs made with whatever was to hand. A question of making do. I rarely write them down, assuming that no one else will be interested in something that simply filled a hole with whatever happened to be around at the time. This was one of those meals, taken as lunch in early March when the cupboard was pretty bare, but I thought I would pass it on for its frugal, done-in-a minute quality and as yet another opportunity to do something with the celery root that turns up in the organic veg box.

　　

Ingredients

enough for 2

　　celeriac – about 1 pound (500g)

　　plump, garlicky sausages – 4

　　peanut oil – 3 tablespoons

　　walnut oil – a tablespoon

　　lemon juice – a tablespoon

　　smooth Dijon mustard – 2 teaspoons

　　flat-leaf parsley – a small bunch

　　

Step 1

Peel the celery root, dipping it into cold water containing a drop of lemon juice as you go. Cut into pieces a scant 1/8 inch (3mm) thick. Bring to a boil in a pan of deep water, add salt, then cook for seven to ten minutes, until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife.

　　

Step 2

Meanwhile, fry or grill the sausages as you think fit, then cut them into thinnish slices and drop them into a salad bowl. If they crumble, all to the good. Make the dressing with the peanut and walnut oils, lemon juice, and mustard, whisking the ingredients together with a grinding of salt and pepper. Chop the parsley and stir it into the dressing (the parsley is essential here, I think).

　　

Step 3

Drain the celery root. Now toss carefully with the sausage and the dressing.

　　Tender