Nourishments—

Celeriac: The Bounty Beneath The Bumps

By Nancy K. Crevier

Knobby, gnarly and difficult to clean are hardly the qualities one looks for in a vegetable, but there you have it: delicious celery root, or celeriac, is the hunchback of the food world. But like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, beneath the ugly surface of celeriac lies a treasure trove.

Celeriac has been utilized in French and German cooking for several centuries, but made its way to the Americas only during the 1800s. The root, about the size of a softball or small cantaloupe, is the taproot of a variety of celery grown specifically for the quality of the root. It is not a prizewinner in nutrition, but it does provide a respectable amount of vitamin C, calcium, iron, and potassium, and is a low-calorie, high fiber food.

Grown primarily in California, celery root is at its peak from November to April.  A fresh celery root should feel hefty when handled, with no soft spots hidden amongst the crevices. The root can be loosely wrapped in plastic and stored in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator for a week to ten days.

Peeling away all of the skin means losing a fair amount of the product, due to the lumps and bumps that challenge even the most skilled knife-wielder. Figure on about one pound to give you two cups of raw, sliced celery root.

Once the light brown skin is peeled away from the cracks and crevices, the creamy white flesh can be sliced or grated raw for salads — dunked first into a lemon water mixture to prevent discoloration — or cut in to chunks and cooked in boiling, salted water for ten minutes, just until tender. Combined with other root vegetables or potatoes, celeriac provides a mild but distinct celery-like flavor with overtones of green herbs.

A favorite online recipe from the FoodNetwork.com is a take on a classic French celery root salad.

Celery Root Remoulade

2 lb celery root

1¾ tsp kosher salt

3 Tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 C good mayonnaise

1 Tbs Dijon mustard

1 Tbs whole-grain mustard

2 tsp Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar

Pinch freshly ground black pepper

Peel the celery root. Cut into thin matchsticks with a mandolin, or grate them in a food processor fitted with the coarse grating blade. Press a little as you feed chunks through and you will have larger shreds.

Place celery root in a large bowl, sprinkle with 1½ tsp salt and 2 Tbs lemon juice. Let stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Whisk in a small bowl, the mayonnaise, the two mustards, the remaining lemon juice, the vinegar, ¼ tsp salt, and the pepper.

Add enough of the dressing to the salad to moisten. Serve cold or room temperature.

Root Vegetable Mash

1 large celery root, peeled, cut into cubes, and dunked in lemon water; drain

3 large parsnips, cut into chunks

3 large carrots, cut into chunks

3 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

3 Tbs unsalted butter

1/3  C plain yogurt

Salt and pepper

2 Tbs minced fresh parsley

Place parsnips and carrots in a medium sauce pot with enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, reduce heat slightly and cook, covered, for 10 minutes.

Add potatoes and continue cooking 10 minutes.

Add celery root and cook another 10 minutes until vegetables are very tender.

Drain well, and mash with nutmeg, cinnamon, butter, yogurt, and salt and pepper to taste.

Stir in parsley and serve warm.