Celeriac Purée

Here is a celeriac purée offered by one of our subscribers. It is sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and sliced almonds and is topped with tofu baked with dandelion greens and fennel.

When blending the purée, add some milk and labne or yogurt/kefir, and tahini lemon sauce. You can also use butter in the celeriac… and a little lemon juice.

Celeriac cooking tips:
1). Forget the potato peeler. Hack away the tough skins with a big, sharp knife.
2). Drop peeled celeriac into a bowl filled with water mixed with lemon juice, to prevent oxidation. (I saved that water and used it to cook the celeriac.)
3). It cooks faster if you grate it first!
4). Purée until VERY smooth, almost runny. If it turns out chunky, add liquid until you get it smooth.

It cooks like a potato, but flavor is different. A bit turnipy and earthy, but less starchy, lighter and more delicate.

Note: When blending the celeriac into purée, it may come out chunky, but just continue to add milk, labne, lemon juice, etc., and kept on blending until it gets very airy. The blending step can take some time, but the taste is like… a puffy cloud.

The celeriac took 30 mins to cook until it was ready for the blender — only a bit longer than potatoes. If you don’t grate it, you can also chop it into very small cubes.

Because the dish is so neutral by itself, and so tender, how you top it off and decorate it on the plate makes a big difference. You can end up with totally different versions. You can change the recipe with a drop of olive oil or balsamic vinegar, or a sprinkle of lemon juice, or a little spoon of yogurt or tahini, or some seeds, a few cranberries, grated cheese or whatever you have lying around. Each of these “accent” ingredients will take the dish in a different direction. Just make sure you use very little of the “accent”, or it will overpower the celeriac.
-Irinushka

A response from another subscriber:
Today when I cooked the celery root that you kindly gave me, I followed all the major recommendations, but not having many of the components (greens, pomegranate, almonds, etc.) I’ve arranged it my way. Here is the final “product”, which is the Celeriac purée decorated with the baked squash, tofu, a little of apple/beet salad and a tomato.
My wife said it is delicious, and I have to agree.
A. Blumen