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Jim Dixon wrote about food for WW for more than 20 years, but these days most of his time is spent at his olive oil-focused specialty food business Wellspent Market. Jim’s always loved to eat, and he encourages his customers to cook by sending them recipes every week through his newsletter. We’re happy to have him back creating some special dishes just for WW readers.
While it’s probably the ugliest vegetable in the produce department, celery root is also one of the tastiest. But the gnarly brown knob festooned with dirt-caked hairy roots scares off most curious would-be eaters. Fear not, because getting one on the table is easier than it looks.
Despite the name, the part you eat is not really a root but a hypocotyl (short for hypocotyledonous stem if you’re into botany), a chunky growth between root and stem that stores the plant’s energy. Celery root also goes by “celeriac,” more elegant and seemingly French even though it was coined by an English gardener in the 1700s. In France, they actually call it céleri and mostly eat it raw in a classic bistro salad called céleri remoulade.
Whatever you call it, it still needs some work before it gets to the table. Start by cutting off any celery-like stems, and you can use them to flavor stock (but don’t eat them like celery, they’re tough). Then get to work on the tangled roots at the other end by slicing thin pieces off with a knife. The roots often still have some clingy dirt, and as you get closer to the ivory interior, there may also be dark seams of embedded dirt. I’ll often make little wedge-shaped cuts to get these out, but sometimes it’s easier to just cut another slice to get rid of them. Once you’ve pared the roots away, you might have to wipe the dirt off your cutting board, too.
The upper, slightly less bumpy part of the celeriac can be trimmed with a swivel peeler. You want to end up with a mostly white ball, and then you can start cutting it up. I slice it in half first so I have a flat side for the cutting board. From there, you can cut it into cubes for soup or matchsticks for a salad like this one, a twist on the French classic.
Celery Three Ways
- 1 celeriac, grated*
- 2 stalks celery, preferably lighter-green inner stalks, thinly sliced
- 2-4 tablespoons celery leaf, chopped
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher style sea salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons mayo
- Lots of freshly ground black pepper, more salt if needed
*The texture is best if grated with a food processor; otherwise, cut it into matchsticks.
Dissolve the sugar and salt in the vinegar, then blend in the olive oil, mustard, mayo, and black pepper. Add the celeriac and celery, toss well, and taste for salt. Serve chilled.