April 15, 2010

Trying Celery Root

So for this month I was trying to think of new foods I wanted to try. I wanted to make a souffle - check! Success!
I also wanted to broaden my palate with some new ingredients. Today I tried celery root. Don't laugh at my description - the flavor is like celery but the texture is like a root vegetable (kind of like a potato when raw, but a little more on the chewy side when cooked). I did a little research about it. Most of the recipes I found had it mashed with potatoes. Sounds good. But I wanted to try something new. It seems most recipes were treating it like you would a potato, so I thought, why not make fries?
Here is my attempt.
 First, here is what it looks like. I couldn't find it at one grocery store, but another did. However, it was mislabeled... a few things were, they were probably rearranging things. I probably wouldn't have known it was celery root except for the fact that celery was growing out the top. Not all have this much celery growing out of it. Some have none.


Celery Root Fries

1/2 large celery root
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sea salt (or whatever salt you have)


Peel celery root, like you would a pineapple, and cut into thin matchsticks (Save your celery for a soup or snack). Toss matchsticks with olive oil, salt and pepper. (I like using sea salt because of the texture.) Place on baking sheet in an even layer. Bake in a 500 degree oven until soft, about 10 minutes. To make extra crispy, place under broiler for about 3 minutes, or until golden brown.
Serves 2.


My verdict: they were okay. Not the best thing. My baby loved them. The more I ate, the better they got. I would rate it a 6/10. I'd eat them if I had to, but probably wouldn't make them again. However, my baby loved them. Much easier for her to eat this than normal celery.
I think they would be much better as chips or in a mash. I saved the other half of my celery root - which should I make? Chips or Mashed?

3 comments:

Brooke said...

Wow, you are so brave! :) I think you should try them mashed. Chips would be a crunchier version of the fries. This way you are doing something different.

Unknown said...

Yuuuummmmy. I love celeriac.

Try slicing the rest of the bulb into 1/4" slices and layering it in a potato gratin. I promise you'll love it. That's how I first had it a few years ago.

Also, celeriac remoulade.

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2010/04/celery_root_remoulade_celeri_rem.html

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/celery_root_salad/

Pam said...

You are the adventurous one! I've never tried celery root but I will surely be checking it out now!