Also called a celery root, this knobbly root vegetable is too often overlooked. With more mindful eaters and conscious cooks than ever before, we’re hoping that the demand for “perfect” looking fruit and vegetables dissipates. And to break the chain, we’re starting with the ugliest of them all, the humble celeriac!
The flesh of a celeriac has a delicate flavour that lends itself to celery and parsley with lovely nutty notes to it.
Keep your celeriac in the fridge. They usually last up to two-three weeks.
To prepare your celeriac, wash well under running water and the skin the entire vegetable. Keep your slices or cubes of celeriac in a bowl filled with water and a squeeze of lemon to keep its bright white colour.
Celeriac Steak
You will need:
1 celeriac
For the marinade
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp paprika/smoked paprika
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
½ lemon
½ cup olive/rapeseed oil
salt, pepper
Mix together all the ingredients for your marinade. You can get creative with this – add ingredients or make up a marinade of your own, just make sure you strike a balance between the acidity and sweetness. Liquid smoke is a great way to give it a meaty flavour. The soy sauce is a great source of umami, but you could use balsamic as a replacement.
Preheat your oven to 200°C. Cut your celeriac into 1-2cm slices or in this case, steaks.
Pour the mixture into a large bowl or container. Marinade the celeriac steaks for about an hour.
Meanwhile, make your accompaniments. A winter herb salad goes very well with this recipe. Make a delicious yoghurt dip by mixing yoghurt with a couple of splashes of the excess marinade.
Place the steaks on a roasting tray lined with baking paper. Be sure not to transfer too much liquid onto the tray. Roast the steaks for about 20 minutes.
Heat up a pan with some oil. If you have one, a griddle pan is perfect. Take the steaks out of the oven and transfer onto the piping hot pan. Brown your steaks on each side, getting a nice char in the griddle pan. About 1-2 minutes on each side should do but use your discretion.
Serve the steaks warm and enjoy!
Garlic-Thyme Celeriac Mash
You will need:
1 celeriac
1 cup of whole milk (or cream if you fancy)
80g unsalted butter
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and mashed
1 bunch of thyme (about 4 sprigs).
Salt
Roughly chop your celeriac into chunks. Place into a large pot and cover with water. Add a tablespoon of salt. Bring the water to the boil and then drop the heat down to medium – leave the celeriac to simmer until tender. This usually takes 10 minutes.
In the meantime, put your butter, garlic and thyme into a saucepan over a medium heat. Brown the butter and let the garlic cook. Then pour in the milk and stir until the milk is warm or steaming. Remove your sprigs of thyme but don’t worry if some leaves get left behind.
Drain the celeriac. Place back on the medium heat. Pour in the milky, garlic mixture. Mash the celeriac in the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with a beautifully cooked protein. This mash goes very well with a lemony fish fillet or pork chop.
Salt Baked Celeriac
You will need:
1 celeriac
275g of plain flour
300g of salt
4 egg whites
150ml of water
Pre-heat your oven to 160°C.
Create the crust by combining the plain flour, egg whites, salt, and water. Mix the ingredients together with your hands (or with a dough arm attachment) until a dough has formed.
Keep your celeriac whole – depending on the shape of the celeriac, you may want to cut off the bottom so that it stands up on the baking tray.
Place ½ of your crust dough onto a baking tray. Spread the mixture out to the width of your celeriac, this is the base that the celeriac will sit on top of. Place the celeriac on top of this mixture. Add the second ½ of the mixture to the top of the celeriac and cover the whole vegetable by wrapping it in the dough. Ensure that there are no holes in the crust.
Put your celeriac in the oven for 3 hours or until the pastry has become hard and golden brown. Prepare a tea towel on a clear surface for the hot tray. Bring the celeriac out of the oven. Use the heel of your knife to crack open the top of the crust.
Serve whole, with crust. Scoop out your celeriac with a spoon at the table. Showstopper!
Celeriac Remoulade
You will need:
1 celeriac
6 tbsp of mayonnaise (we suggest making your own)
3 tbsp of Dijon mustard
Juice of 1 lemon
Fresh watercress
Sourdough toast
Mix your mayonnaise, lemon juice and mustard in a large bowl. As your whisk, add some salt and pepper to taste. Once thoroughly combined, cover and set aside.
Chop your celeriac into workable chunks. Grate the celeriac onto a chopping board.
Add the grated celeriac to your creamy mixture to create a remoulade.
Serve garnished with a handful of fresh watercress. Delicious with our farmhouse terrine or simply with a slice of sourdough toast.