knolkervel – Cook and Drink

Oven Roasted Tuberous Chervil

14 May 2026

Tuberous chervil, also known as turnip chervil and bulbous chervil, is a forgotten vegetable. It was popular throughout continental Europe in the 19^th century, but today it’s hard to find. Tuberous chervil is very tasty and easy to prepare. Its flavour will make you think of chestnuts, without a hint of bitterness. The ‘chervil’ in the name does not mean it’s the tuber of the chervil plant (like parsley and parsley root are related). It’s included because the leaves of tuberous chervil look like the leaves of chervil. The two are not related.
As more often, the tubers were replaced by potatoes: cheaper, easier to handle and easier to grow.

Earlier we made a purée with tubers, cream, butter and nutmeg. Combine it with lamb chops and you have a very tasty meal.

This colourful, flavourful and aromatic oven dish goes very well with pork and chicken.

What You Need

5 Tuberous Chervil
1 Parsnip
1 Shallot
1 Carrot
1 Garlic Clove
1/2 teaspoon of Cumin
3 Pruneaux d’Agen
Handful of Chick Peas, drained and washed
Chicken Stock

What You Do

Preheat your oven to 180 °C or 355 °F
Chop the shallot
Chop the garlic
Chop the pruneaux
Wash and peel the parsnip and the carrot
If the tuberous chervils are young and fresh, you don’t need to peel them. The ones we bought were a bit older, so we peeled them
Quartered tuberous chervils
Slice the carrot
Dice the parsnip
Gently fry the shallot
Add garlic
Add cumin
Transfer to a shallow dish
Add tuberous chervils, parsnip, pruneaux, carrot and chickpeas
Mix
Add stock
Cover the oven dish with aluminium foil
Transfer to the oven for 30 minutes
Flip the vegetables after 15 minutes
Remove foil
Leave in the oven for another 15 minutes
Serve warm

Tuberous Chervil

16 January 2025

Earlier we wrote about mashua and oca, two forgotten vegetables. This week we enjoyed tuberous chervil, another forgotten vegetable, also known as turnip chervil and bulbous chervil. Popular throughout continental Europe in the 19^th century, but now hard to find. The tubers we bought had a length of approximately 4 cm and a thickness of 2 cm. They are white on the inside. The tuberous chervil is very tasty, easy to prepare, and its flavour will make you think of chestnuts, without a hint of bitterness.
As more often, these winter vegetables were replaced by potatoes: cheaper, easier to handle and easier to grow.
The ‘chervil’ in the name does not mean it’s the tuber of the chervil plant (like parsley and parsley root are related). It’s included because the leaves of tuberous chervil (see picture below) look like the leaves of chervil. The two are not at all related.
According to some sources tuberous chervil can be eaten raw. We tried it, of course, and yes, edible, but not great. We prefer to turn the tubers into a purée, with cream, butter and nutmeg. We combined the purée with lamb chops and with scallops. The second combination didn’t work, as if bringing the two together diminished the individual flavours. The first combination was delicious, the sweetness of the meat with the chestnut flavour, the freshness of the puree with the fatty lamb.

Wine Pairing

We enjoyed a glass of red wine from the Bordeaux region with our purée and lamb, produced by Château Picon. A very nice, affordable wine, with some dark fruit and acidity. In general, we suggest a not too complex red wine, made with for instance cabernet sauvignon and/or merlot grapes.

What You Need

250 grams of Tuberous Chervil
Butter
Cream
Nutmeg
Black Pepper

What You Do

If the tuberous chervil are young and fresh, you don’t need to peel them. The ones we bought were a bit older, so we peeled them. Wash and cook for 5-10 minutes until soft. Drain. Mash using a fork, add butter and cream. Use a spoon to make the purée. The tubers love both, so you will probably need to add a bit more than expected. Keep warm on low heat, add black pepper and freshly grated nutmeg to taste. Quickly fry the lamb chops, add lots of herbes de Provence or a combination of thyme and oregano and serve with the purée.