It's black, hairy and grows underground.

OK, I'm going to introduce you to a vegetable we'd never heard of, let alone eaten. We always have a look at the board outside Annie's Bistro to see what 'Menu del Dia' is. Today it was : Meatloaf Salsify Potatoes.

Now I'd never heard of salsify potatoes, but I assumes they were a way of doing the potatoes maybe in a sauce, but as we like Annika's meatloaf we decided to go in and treat ourselves to Menu del Dia.

When we received our meals there was the meatloaf and some boiled potatoes, nothing odd about the potatoes but we also had a heap of what looked like cheesey pasta. 'That's the Salsify ' we were told by Danny, 'we only eat it with meatloaf.'

So, we tried it and were surprised to find it wasn't pasta but actually a vegetable in a light cheese sauce. It was a root veg, and had a firm texture but was seemed as if it belonged to the Asparagus family. Not much flavour to it other than the sauce but a nice addition to the meal.

We asked Danny about the Salsify and he told us about it being a black root vegetable, not unlike a carrot - so, it goes without saying, as soon as I got home - I was on Google.

Firstly, here's a photo:

You peel them and cook them just the same as carrots,only cutting them into longer sections as they are thinner. They are white when they are peeled and need to be served in sauce as they are quite a bland taste.

Here's an extract about the plant from this site: http://www.ecomii.com/food/vegetables/salsify

A second salsify is commonly called black salsify (Scorzonera hispanica). As the name suggests, the roots have a black skin but white flesh within. They are long and blunt-ended, shaped rather like some carrots, but not as tapered. Native to a wide region of Europe and Asia, black salsify has a finer texture and more flavor than white-rooted salsify, and is worth looking for. There’s a suggestion of coconut and artichoke about its taste, and it’s sweeter than white salsify. The sweetness comes not from sugar but from inulin, the same compound that gives Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes) their sweetness. Inulin, while tasting sweet, is safe for diabetics (although it can give rise to flatulence). Its roots are even more easily damaged than white salsify.

Now, about that little comment about giving rise to flatulence - oh boy, are they right on that one! Apparently inulin is the cause and you need to take small amounts and build up a tolerance to avoid having a problem with wind - and yes, having tried Salsify for the first (and possibly last) time - we can both vouch for the ability of it to give you wind - big style, so be warned - don't have Salsify for dinner the day before a big meeting or an important social gathering or you will not be popular.

Good Meatloaf though!