Friday frippery: celeriac fritters with caper and rosemary aioli

Well, I've come down from the book launch now, so it's time to get on with more serious matters.

Or not. I mean, it's Friday, for crying out loud. Whoever gets down to work on a Friday afternoon??

Time to be a little less earnest, methinks. So first, I'll show you a picture of my cellulite-puckered backside.

Oh, come on. You didn't really think I was going to show you my peachy buttocks, did you?

Obviously, it's a celeriac - that most unpretty, underrated, little-loved root vegetable. The one that usually gets left on the shelves, like the sad school geek at the disco.

Well, I have a soft spot for celeriac as it happens. Packed with peppery, dusky flavour, it's one of my highlights over the winter period - great for mashes, gratins, remoulades, and soups and stews.

But with the recent addition of Denis Cotter's 'Wild Garlic...' to my book collection came a new use for celeriac that I just couldn't resist - fritters.

I don't want to get in trouble with either Mr Cotter or his publisher, so I'm not going to give the recipe here - but suffice to say you need to make some rosemary oil, a punchy aioli (the addition of roasted garlic, capers, and Dijon mustard is key) and some parmesan breadcrumbs for the fritter coating. And yes, it does take a wee while, but the results are truly worth it.

I am in lurrrrrve, people. These lovely, light fritters reveal a whole new side of celeriac that I never knew even existed. Forget school geek - this is the full, spinning-around disco champ, complete with spangly bits. Spangly bits, I said. Really.

Would it surprise you to learn that I've already booked a spot at Café Paradiso for later this year?

No, I thought not.