How to use Celeriac- a wonderful vegetable

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Celeriac recipes; what to do with "the ugly one"- celeriac- the cinderella of the vegetable world

Celeriac , sometimes known as celery root, is an unattractive looking vegetable.Celeriac has been called The Ugly One! Even its own mother wouldn't call it handsome, yet celeriac has been called "the unsung hero of the vegetable world" However, beauty is only skin deep- look below the surface!
Celeriac is a wonderful vegetable if you just know how to handle it. I'm going to show you lots of great ways to use celeriac. Use this ugly old vegetable to add something new to your meals.

Maybe you'll be tempted to try one of the celeriac recipes from top chefs that I've picked for you here. In winter, celeriac mash is a change from the dull old mashed potato. Another great way to use celeriac is in celeriac soup Celeriac is a great base for many tasty soups.
With summer on the way, go French and use celeriac in a celeriac salad , called celeriac remoulade in French cuisine. This easy to make but very sophisitcated recipe is a winner.
A few years ago in the UK, British celeriac growers, feeling their vegetable was being overlooked, decided to make celeriac's ugliness into a selling point. They suggested how to use celeriac in many different ways.
Many people, however , still look at celeriac with suspicion. You can see from the advert below that celeriac can be used in a wide variety of ways.

Many top chefs such as Jamie Oliver have their own favorite celeriac recipe. Jamie Oliver uses celeriac as a base for a soup, instead of the more usual potato. Celeriac has a really interesting flavor, and the texture is better than potato if you want to puree your soup to make it nice and smooth.

Here's the poster that the celeriac marketing people dreamed up.



Thanks to Jofus and flickr for the photo.


Here I'm going to show you how to cook celeriac.
It's not just me who wants to tell you how to cook celeriac. All the top chefs are telling you how to use celeriac and how to cook celeriac.
You can also eat celeriac raw- the French do!
The ugly one has become fashionable!

I love celeriac mash, and in the UK in the winter months you will find celeriac mash appearing on fashionable menus everywhere. Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay love celeriac mash, and there are links below to their great celeriac recipes.Try celeriac mash instead of mashed potatoes. Celeriac is lower in carbohydrate than potatoes, so is great if you'e following a low carbohydrate diet.
Celeriac can be used all year round and is very tasty grated raw into salads.
I understand that in the USA , celeriac is not much used . I'd love to know if you have seen celeriac, used celeriac, eaten celeriac, or never heard of celeriac!
The French on the other hand just love celeriac, or celeri rave as they call it. In France. Celeriac appears raw in salads in the classic French recipe Celeri Remoulade. I'll tell you more about the French love of celeriac later.

Be brave,if you see a celeriac, buy a celeriac. Try celeriac in one of the great celeriac recipes I've suggested- fall in love with celeriac, the ugly vegetable with a heart of gold.

Thanks to snigl3t and flickr for the intro photo

Celeriac mash- how to cook celeriac mash

Celeriac mash- a simple upgrade to your meals

In recent years, all the top chefs in th UK have fallen in love with celeriac mash. Try a celeriac mash recipe, or smashed celeriac as Jamie Oliver calls it.
Celeriac adds a distinctive taste to your mash. It does, as it's name suggests, have a slight celery flavor. You can make a mash entirely with celeriac, or you can make a potato and celeriac mash for a milder taste.Anyway you make it, celeriac mash is an excellent celeriac recipe.
If you're following a low carbohydrate diet such as the Dukan Diet another good celeriac recipe is to mash celeriac with swede, pumpkin or squash,. All of these give you the texture of potato without the carbohydrate.You can then use celeriac mash to top your shepherds pie!
Peel your celeriac, chop into slices, and boil in salted water as you would do with potato. When the celeriac is soft, you can smash it with a potato masher, a fork, or you can put it through your food processor. Now's the time to add a few extras to your celeriac recipe.
Mash a little butter or olive oil into the celeriac. Add some wholegrain mustard to the celeriac mash. Add herbs of your choice, or a little coriander for a spicy taste.
I like to add chives from my herb garden to my celeriac mash.
At White Moss House when serving our gourmet dinners, we refine the mash to a puree, adding cooked parsnip and honey, blending and sieving to give a beautiful smooth texture. We sometimes even add salsify ( now that's another unloved vegetable I might write about!)
Below are lots of variations on the celeriac mash.
As well using celeriac mash as a side dish you can use celeriac mash to top your savoury pie, such as Shepherd's pie, for a low carbohydrate meal.
Give your tatsebuds a treat with these quirky celeriac recipes.

Simple celeriac mash recipes from great chefs.

All great chefs have their own version of celeriac mash

Celeriac mash- simple yet tasty and just a bit different from the usual mash.
Celeriac mash is lower in carbohydrate than potato mash. It's great if you're on a healthy diet.
Jamie Oliver is a big fan of celeriac. Here;s more about Jamie's recipes

How to make Jamie Oliver's Italian meals
Jamie Oliver loves Italian Food Jamie is an Italian Food Hero! To suggest that Jamie Oliver,an Englishman from Essex is an Italian Food Hero might seem per...

Stilton-stuffed steak with cheese, chive and celeriac mash
A great use of celeriac and Stilton cheese for a new take on steak
Jamie Oliver's Smashed Celeriac
Jamie loves celeriac- here is his recipe for mashed, or in Jamie-speak "smashed" celeriac.. He calls mashed celeriac "a complete joy"
Gordon Ramsey's Beef Bourguignon with Celeriac mash
Gordon Ramsey also uses celeriac in some of his favorite recipes
Sophie Dahl's fish pie with celeriac mash
The glamorous model and cook, Sophie Dahl, uses celeriac mash in this excellent fish pie recipe. Good for low carbohydrate diets.
Salmon Fillet with celeriac mash from Mary Cadogan
From the wonderful BBC Good Food website. Mary says "If beauty is skin deep- that's celeriac for you"It's what's inside that counts.

Jamie Oliver "smashes" celeriac

Get Jamie's Masher and tackle your celeriac mash with it.

Jamie Oliver doesn't mash celeriac- he "smashes" it. Here is Jamie's perfect masher for you to buy.

Jamie Oliver Stainless Steel Masher

Amazon Price: $12.99 (as of 05/30/2012)Buy Now

A robust masher that does the job. Just like Jamie Over himself!

Jamie Oliver Masher with Silicone Scraper- UK readers can buy this here

What do you know about celeriac?

A humble vegetable seeks your vote.

Everyone loves a poll.Here is a poll with a difference- forget those dull old politicians, this is a poll about CELERIAC!

Have you ever heard of celeriac? Have you used it?
Join the celeriac popularity poll.

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Celeriac in summer-- use raw celeriac as a salad

Celeriac remoulade is a classic French dish- but don't be frightened- its easy to make.

Celeriac Remoulade


This lovely photo of a celeriac remoulade, the classic celeriac recipe from France, is thanks to girl interrupted eating and flickr licensed for commercial use.
A remoulade is really a simple mayonnaise based sauce, with added flavoring such as mustard or capers. The French name for celeriac is celeri, or properly, celeri-rave.This is a simple look at how to cook celeriac remoulade. Well, actually, you don't cook it!
This classic dish, Celeriac remoulade, is basically simply grated raw celeriac in mayonnaise- doesn't that sound easy?
Julia Child includes it in her classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Celeriac remoulade is a good easy recipe for a vegetarian meal. Celeriac adds interest to any vegetarian meal.

For a simple, quick ,easy celeriac remoulade look at the Quick Celeriac remoulade recipe below.

Raw celeriac can be added to any salad, like you might add grated carrots - it just gives a different taste that your friends and family might enjoy.

Celeriac Remoulade Recipes

Celery root remoulade- a French Classic.

Julia Child's recipe for Celery Remoulade, also known as Celery Root remoulade
Impress your friends with this classic French dish. Its actually very easy- here is Julia Child's very clear recipe for you.
James Martin's BBC Saturday Kitchen recipe for Celeriac Remoulade
Another easy recipe for this great classic from the top TV chef James Martin.
Quick Celeriac Roulade from the BBC Good Food
Using ready made mayonnaise, this makes a quick, healthy and impressive starter for a meal. Try it next time you have a dinner party- a Classic French dish, celeriac remoulade, made easy.
Gordon Ramsey's Celeriac Remoulade with a winter leaf salad
Gordon Ramsey makes the classic Celeriac Remoulade with his own twist- an impressive, healthy, easy to make classic recipe- no cooking required.
Mark Hix in the Independent gives a great celeriac remoulade recips
Top chef Mark Hix suggests making your own celeriac remoulade to serve with cold cuts and smoked fish. Easy Peasy!
Nigel Slater's Classic Celeriac remoulade recipe
Nigel Slater point out that the French can buy this winter salad ready made in most supermarkets. In the UK ( and no doubt in the USA too) we have to make this celeriac recipe at home. Nigel Slater thinks this is one of the best ways of using celeriac. Why not try it?
Jamie Oliver's Ribbon celeriac salad
This is not the traditional remoulade- it's a Jamie Oliver celeriac salad- different but nice. Use celeriac salad as a side dish or main. Great for vegetarians bored with the same old lettuce leaves.

To make celeriac remoulade you need a good quality food grater

This food grater is perfect for grating raw vegetables for healthy eating

You can grate celeriac in your food processor, or on a small hand held grater, but I think all kitchens need a really firm, solid grater like this.
This grater is firm and strong, suitable for grating all vegetables, fruits and cheeses. Great for breadcrumbs too.This is a big grater, which has a collection box at the bottom, built in, to catch all you cheese and vegetables as you grate them

KitchenAid KG300 Box Grater, Black

Amazon Price: $17.27 (as of 05/30/2012)Buy Now

A really good buy- in my opinion. I love it in red! ( you can buy it in black if you prefer)

UK readers can buy this here - Kitchen Craft Grater / Box Grater Stainless Steel, 24cm

Celeriac soup- how to cook celeriac soup

See how to cook celeriac soup- so tasty and easy

If you are making a home made vegetable soup that you want to whizz through a blender to make a wonderful smooth soup, what thickener do you use?
You could use flour- not my choice! You could use lentils- I love lentils! Why not do what the top chefs do and use celeriac as a base for your soup.
Get out that big stock pot and cook celeriac soup.You could make celeriac soup as a Christmas recipe- start the meal with celeriac soup, or make a pot of celeriac soup for a lunchtime snack with warm bread. Maybe your Thanksgiving dinner could start with celeriac soup? Celeriac soup is very easy to make, but just that little bit unusual, so you can impress your friends and family just by taking the plunge and buying some celeriac.

You could use potato, but for a change in flavor, you can use celeriac instead of potato. Cooked with the vegetables of your choice till soft, celeriac gives a really smooth texture with a hint of celery flavor, instead of the bland base you get from potato.

This is beautiful curried celeriac soup with Spring Bay mussels comes thanks to avlxyz and flickr creative commons

For a beautiful cream colored soup, use very lightly cooked onions and a light stock with your celeriac.
Below are celeriac soup recipes from famous chefs.
Celeriac soup, celeriac and carrot soup , curried celeriac soup- the possibilities are endless!
They are easy to make , and will give great pleasure!

Cook your celeriac in a really great stock pot

Celeriac needs a big stock pot for its great flavors.

How to cook celeriac.
Celeriac is best cooked slowly in a stock. Celeriac is a BIG vegetable so use a good sized pan. I like this dark solid stock pot to cook celeriac and to make celeriac soup or celeriac puree.
This stock pot is also great for celeriac mash- don't mess around with little pans!

Granite Ware 21 Quart Stock Pot

Amazon Price: $22.97 (as of 05/30/2012)Buy Now

A great looking stock pot for slowly simmering your tasty celeriac.

If you're making soup you need a stockpot

Stockpots on ebay.

A good vegetable soup is best made in a stockpot, for slow, simmering flavor. There are some great offers here on ebay.
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Great chefs love celeriac soup

Many of the top chefs have celeriac soup recipes

Here are just a few of the many recipes for celeriac soup- a favorite with chefs.
I saw James Martin making the celeriac soup with pancetta on the TV this week- absolutely scrumptious!
In the winter, celeriac can be added to all sort of root vegetables to make a thick, creamy tasty celeriac soup.
The soup does not need any more thickening- no flour of any sort, so this makes a really healthy soup- great for gluten free diets and for weightwatchers. You don't need cream either- just great vegetables to make a great celeriac soup.
Gluten free celeriac soup is much more tasty than soup made with potato thickening. Give celeriac soup and try!
Celeriac and leek soup from Riverford organics
Another recipe from the vegetable experts
Delia Smith's Slow cooked celery and celeriac soup
Delia can always be relied upon for great , sensible, tasty, easy to follow recipes. This one for celeriac soup is a classic.
Celeriac and Carrot soup from vegbox recipes
The carrot adds a hint of sweetness to this great winter sop recipe
Mark Hix' Celeriac and apple soup with cheddar croutons
Mark Hix turns the humble celeriac into a wonderful celeriac soup
James Martin's celeriac and pancetta soup
Use pancetta or bacon to make a great winter celeriac soup.
From the USA comes this delicious curried celeriac soup
Food writer Blake Royer of Chicago on his website Serious Eats features this recipeswhich "makes ugliness beautiful"!
Chunky Cheddar and celeriac soup
This is a meal in a bowl! Perfect for a winter's lunch.

Soup becomes something special when presented in a pretty bowl

Make your own soups and serve them in a new soupl bowl.

See what's available on ebay to cheer up your winter soups.
Making your own homemade soup is a really economical way to feed a hungry family, and it's healthy too.
Spend a little money buying some great soup bowls, and make your celeriac soup ,or any of your favorite soup recipes, into a real treat.
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Celeriac is at its best in the winter months- here are more recipe ideas for fall and winter

More Whitemoss food and recipe ideas for the colder months.

Celeriac is just at its best as the colder weather approaches. Here are more food ideas to go with celeriac for your fall recipe and winter recipe collections.
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Be inspired by great chefs who also know how to cook simply

Practical helpful fabulous recipe books from my favorite chefs

All these chefs use celeriac! Yes really!
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Celeriac stars in it's own poster.

Celeriac is a pin up!

The ugly one is now a pin up. You can buy yourself a great poster of this lovely vegetable for your kitchen wall.

Celeriac, Celery Root (Apium Graveolens Var. Rapaceum) Native to Western, Southern Europe



Celeriac, Celery...

Ken Lucas

Buy This at Allposters.com

This lens has won Squidoo's top award- a Purple Star

I've been lucky to be awarded seven purple stars. Here they are

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Celeriac , sometimes known as celery root, is an unattractive looking vegetable.Celeriac has been called The Ugly One! Even its own mother wouldn't call it h...
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Celeriac is in the news.

Celeriac is making it's way into the press

When I started writing about celeriac two years ago, this humble vegetable was not very popular.
Now celeriac is in the news.
It's a great vegetable under it's unpromising exterior. You can eat celeriac raw or cooked in a variety of ways, and celeriac is low carbohydrate, so good for all those of you on the Dukan Diet
Signature dish: Scallops and apple
SCALLOPS, APPLE, & CELERIAC REMOULADE Serves 4 Preparation time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 2 minutes Skills needed: Intermediate 16 med-large scallops CELERIAC REMOULADE 1 large celeriac 4 tbsp mayonnaise 1 bunch chives, finely chopped 2 peeled eschalot ...
A root that's underrated
Celeriac (far right) with its winter vegetable cousins, fennel, kohlrabi and swede. Photo: Craig Abraham What is celeriac and what can I do with it? B. Marsh I WAS at the market the other day and the chicken man asked me what the f--- was ''the ugly ...
What's in season - May 28 round-up
Celeriac Eat raw or cooked. Fennel Choose fat, unmarked bulbs. Grapefruit Pink and white. Mandarin Sweet and juicy. Oranges Navels from Queensland, NSW and Victoria are all available. Pears Packhams and beurre bosc are great eating.
Farm To Fork Across America. Mad Chef Jimmy Schmidt
Rather, Jimmy uses flavorful and nutritional ingredients like scallops, celeriac or apples, to play the role of "pasta" in a traditional ravioli shape. Giant sea scallops are pounded paper thin, topped with a lobster medley, then sealed with a final ...

If you're on a low carbohydrate diet, celeriac can help

Celeriac is a low carb alternative to potato.

The Dukan Diet is one of the latest and most popular low carb diets. Celeriac can be used in the Dukan diet instead of potato. Read all about the Dukan diet here.

The Dukan Diet Attack Phase
The Attack Phase throws you into the Dukan Diet with a blitz on your old eating habits.The Attack Phase sounds scary, but it only lasts a few days, during ...

Top tips for starting the Dukan Diet
The Dukan Diet promises rapid weight loss without hunger . Summer's on the way, you want to look great, and the Dukan Diet guarantees fast results. That's wh...

For readers in the UK- here are some great recipe books

The top recipes from the top restaurants.

Take a look at these cooker bestsellers. Any on of these would make a great Christmas gift.
All these books come from the top chefs with great restaurants.
Top Sellers in Restaurant Cookbooks

More great articles about celeriac

The humble celeriac is so versatile.
You can make celeriac chips, by slicing them and either deep frying or oven roasting celeriac slices.
You can add celeriac to salads.
Here are lots more ideas about what to do with celeriac.
Whether you call it celeriac, celeri-rave, celery root, or the Ugly One, this vegetable is a treasure not to be missed!
Wikipedia tells you all you about celeriac
The history of celeriac and much more.
Eat the Seasons guide to celeriac
A great website for vegetable lovers. This tells you about which veg are in season, and how to cook and store them.
Lots of useful links and information on celeriac and celeriac recipes.
The vegetarian Society information and recipe page for celeriac
The UK vegetarian society loves celeriac.
Back to my roots- Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall on celeriac
Country farmer and chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall enthuses about celeriac, with lots of celeriac recipes.
Cook it simply- 17 recipes for celeriac
17 ways to use celeriac! You'll certainly find a recipe for celeriac here !
Nigel Slater's Celeriac chips recipe ( celeriac fries)
Great celeriac recipes from Nigel Slater, a chef who grows his own vegetables.
Mark Hix writes in the Independent about celeriac.
Mark Hix, one of the UKs top chefs, has just written a new article about the joys of celeriac.

Celeriac and other unusual vegetables and how to use them

Take a look at these other great ideas

I've been inspired by a lens about beetroot tart to search out other unusual veg lenses- please let me know if you have any I can add.
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The ugly one stars on a mug!

Get a celeriac mug from Zazzle- love the ugly one!

OK, tell me what you think about celeriac

Is the Ugly One a prince or a frog?

If celeriac has passed you by so far , you might be happy to keep it that way- it looks ugly, ugh!
However, you might be tempted to look out for it and experiment with some of these recipes.
Which way will you go?

Are you going to give celeriac, celeri-rave,celery root, (whatever) a home in your kitchen?

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No, it looks disgusting and I just don't want to know.

Bill_Lawrence says:

nice lens

Treasures-By-Brenda says:

I've never had it and am likely to resist cooking something so ugly!

Pukeko says:

I am a creature of habit.

Well...yes, I think I might buy one next time I see one and experiment with it.

whitemoss says:

Sorry for this previous comment all good visitors. I've now changed to page to "approve comments first"!

Sean says:

That first picture looks like a nug of some dank.

Terrie_Schultz says:

I've never tried it before, but thanks to all your information, I think I will!

PorkShankCooks says:

Here in Hungary, celery root is used more often than the actual stalks we all know and love. I usually have a harder time finding stalks than I do the ugly, meteorite-looking root. I like it though. It's just about a staple in soups from my mother-in-law's kitchen.

mazteryota says:

If not for squidoo, I dont think that I would have discovered this

 
view all 35 comments

If you don't want to get involved in the celeriac duel, please leave a message anyway.

Please say hello if you've stopped by. If you want to rate the lens that would be great too.

  • elynmac Apr 12, 2012 @ 11:31 am | delete
    Love the stuff. Hard to get in China too.
  • blackspanielgallery Apr 10, 2012 @ 7:16 am | delete
    I have not seen this in my area,
  • flighty02 Apr 2, 2012 @ 7:17 am | delete
    People shouldn't let the 'ugliness' of celeriac put them off, it really is quite nice. I do like celeriac mash but I think I shall have to try that remoulade recipe of yours.
  • elynmac Apr 1, 2012 @ 10:16 pm | delete
    I love funky vegetables. Celariac is fun. I have eaten it, but never grown it. You have it all here, from garden to table. Thanks for this!
  • kindoak Mar 26, 2012 @ 1:22 am | delete
    For those who haven't tried it - never mind the looks, it tastes great!
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Celeriac, the ugly one, now has a growing fan club!

Thank you to these angels for their very welcome blessings

The winter brings the ugly celeriac into it's own. Celeriac is not ugly inside!
There are new angel blessings, and this humble vegetable is now beggining to feel a little more pleased with itself! Thanks to all of you.

Wow, the ugly one has been sprinkled with stardust.

Angel blessing for celeriac!

Now celeriac knows how Cinderella felt when she got to the ball!
No longer ugly and unloved, but sprinkled with angel dust.
Thank you Squid Angel skiesgreen.
A second blessing- thank you Pukeko.
And arncyn- three of you like the ugly one. The celeriac could be about to turn into a handsome prince!

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What do you mean, you don't have a Kindle? 

Kindles are great for collecting recipes

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Kindle Fire is the top of the Christmas wish list.
As a tool for cooks, it's great. There are loads of recipes that you can save to your Kindle and use easily in the kitchen.

A great recipe book for your Kindle 

Soups and stews on your Kindle.

Soups & Stews: Discover the soup and stew recipes 20 million cooks picked as America's best

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Get lots of great recipes and store them on your Kindle for easy use in your kitchen. Celeriac can be be used in lots of these recipes.Take a look at all the recipe books available for your Amazon Kindle.

Celeriac is a great vegetable for soups- find more soup recipes here 

Vegetable cook books are great inspiration.

New England Soup Factory Cookbook: More Than 100 Recipes from the Nation's Best Purveyor of Fine Soup

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Lovely soup recipes from the New England soup experts