Vegetable was in tin stolen from hapless electrician (8)
I believe the answer is:
celeriac
'vegetable' is the definition.
(I know that celeriac is a type of root vegetable)
I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for celeriac that I've seen before include "Turnip-rooted celery" , "It has a root like a turnip" , "Clear ice (anag) - it is used as a vegetable" , "Odd root vegetable for Alec Rice" , "Edible root for Alec Rice" .)