Celeriac Health Benefits, Culinary Uses and Best Celery Root Recipes

Celeriac, or root-celery, is grown for its delicious, rather ugly looking, spherical root covered in knobs. Celeriac roots range in size from an apple to a rock melon. Choose medium size, firm celeriac bulbs with no soft patches. Celeriac is a popular winter-season vegetable used for making hearty soups and stews. It can also be mashed, or cooked whole as a side dish. Botanically, it is related to carrot and other members of the Apiaceae family. Celery root has many diverse uses showcased by the wonderful collection of recipes included in this article.

Health Benefits and Nutrition Data for Celeriac

Celeriac has few calories with 100 g containing 42 calories, almost half that in potato (77 calories), sweet potato (86 calories) and about the same as for carrot (42 calories).
Celeriac is relatively rich in fiber and protein.
Celeriac contains many anti-oxidants such as falcarindiol, panaxydiol, falcarinol and methyl-falcarindiol.
Celeriac is an excellent source of vitamin K, with 100 g containing about 41 micro g (about 35% of recommended daily allowance).
Celeriac is a good source of a variety of minerals including: iron, calcium, copper, phosphorus and manganese (see table below).
Celeriac is a good source of vitamin B-complex vitamins including pantothenic acid, niacin, pyridoxine, riboflavin, and thiamin. Fresh celery root contains moderate levels of vitamin C (8 mg/100 g).

For details of the nutrition data for celeriac (100 g) see the table below.

Culinary Uses for Celeriac

Celeriac can be used in similar ways to other root vegetables; in soups, casseroles sauce, pies, casseroles and as a side dish, either whole or mashed.

It provides a delicate taste resembling celery and has a delightful texture when not overcooked.

Celery root can also be eaten raw in salads, coleslaw. Though it should be used sparingly as it has a strong and delightful taste that can be overpowering.

The classic Fresh dish: celeriac remoulade, is perhaps the most famous recipe.

Celeriac can be eaten with fish, seafood and various meats, when baked whole or stuffed.

Celeriac also pairs well with cheese and fruits.

You can mash celeriac with potato and sweet potato for an interesting color and taste variation.

Best Celeriac Recipes

Celeriac, Toasted Cashews, Chicory and Orange Salad Recipe

Ingredients

75 g cashew nuts
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoons English mustard
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
250 g (1/2 pound) celeriac
1 head chicory
1 large orange

Method

Heat a dry frying pan over moderate heat. Add the nuts and toss over a moderate heat for several minutes until lightly toasted. Set the nuts aside to cool. Combine the mustard, olive oil and vinegar in a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Peel the celeriac and slice into thin matchsticks. Quickly toss the sliced celeriac root in the dressing in the mixing bowl to prevent it from browning. Trim the chicory and remove the individual leaves. Add the leaves to the celeriac in the bowl. Transfer the salad mixture to a serving plate. Cut a slice off the bottom of the orange and place it on a board with the cut side down. Using a very sharp knife, slice through the peel and pith of the orange to remove them and slicing the remaining part of the orange into sections. Place the orange sections on top of the salad on the serving plate. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle to the cashews on top and serve.

Celeriac Ice-Cream Recipe

Ingredients

8 large egg yolks
150 g (5 oz) caster sugar
500 ml (16 fl oz) whole milk
300 ml (10 fl oz) double cream
300 g (14 oz) celeriac, peeled and cubed

Method

Make the ice-cream by simmering the celeriac in milk in a large pan, for about 20-30 minutes, until the celeriac is just tender. Puree the celeriac with a fork or stick blender until very smooth. Measure out 300 ml (10 fl oz) of the puree for the ice-cream. Keep the leftover puree for a soup or other dish. Next, whisk the sugar and egg yolks together in a bowl. Add the hot celeriac puree to the egg mixture, in small batches whisking continuously and then transfer this mixture into a clean saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture thicken enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, whisk in the cream. Cover the bowl with cling-film and place in the refrigerator to cool and chill. When the mixture is cold, transfer to an ice-cream machine and churn until soft-set, then freeze until solid. Serve with mint leaves and chopped walnuts.

Celeriac and Smoked Fish Soup Recipe

Ingredients

2 bay leaves
Small bunch of parsley
800 g (28 oz) celeriac
500 ml (17 fl oz) of milk
500 g (1 pound) smoked haddock or similar fish
6-10 black peppercorns, cracked with a heavy weight

For garnishing

2 tablespoons chopped parsley
4 rashers of smoked streaky bacon

Method

Place the fish (skinned) in a large, shallow pan. Add the bay leaves, milk and cracked the peppercorns to the pan and heat to just before boiling. Then, remove the pan from the heat, cover it, and set aside infuse for 15-20 minutes. Peel the celeriac, slice into large chunks and place them into a deep saucepan. Remove the fish from the milk. Then sieve the milk into the pan with the celeriac pan. Discard the bay leaves and peppercorns. Add 400 ml (13 fl oz) of water to the pan and a pinch of salt. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently until the celeriac is tender (about 15 to 20 minutes). Next, using and blender or food processor, pulse the celeriac and milk to a smooth soup. Transfer the mixture to a pan lover low heat. Add the parsley, check the seasoning. Fry or grill the bacon rashers until crisp. Place a quarter of the fish into four shallow bowls. Ladle the soup over the fish portions and then top each with parsley and a rasher of crisp bacon. Serve hot.

Baked Celeriac Wedges Recipe with Butter, Lemon and Thyme

Ingredients

3 sprigs or rosemary
750 g (26 oz) celeriac
Juice of 1 small lemon
40 g (1 1 /2 oz) of butter
6 small sprigs of fresh thyme

Method

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F). Line a baking pan with parchment paper so that it overlaps the sides enough to make a sealed bag. Peel the celeriac, cut it in half and then slice each half into 4-6 wedges. Place the wedges into a bowl and squeeze lemon juice over them to stop them browning. Melt the butter in a small heavy pan or Dutch oven and pour over the celeriac wedges. Sprinkle with thyme leaves and chopped rosemary sprigs. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer the celeriac wedges into the paper-lined baking dish. Gather the edges together and seal the bag. Bake for 25-35 minutes. Open the paper parcel, turn the celeriac pieces over. Then, return the pan to the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until the wedges are golden brown on all sides.

Whole Celeriac Baked with Herbs

Ingredients

3 bay leaves
4 sprigs of thyme
50 g (2 oz) butter
4 sprigs of rosemary
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 celeriac bulbs (medium size)
2 small garlic bulb, broken into cloves

Method

Heat your oven to oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F). Remove the green stem from the celeriac bulbs, if present, and slice off the top. Scrub the celeriac bulbs and remove any roots, but leave intact as possible. Rub the celeriac bulbs all over with the oil. Place on two large sheet of foil, with the cut, root-side surface down. Scatter the garlic, seasoning and herbs around the bulbs and wrap the foil tightly around the bulbs. Place the foil parcels on a baking tray and roast for about 2 hours, or until the top of the bulb is very tender. To serve, unwrap the celeriac and cut off the top. Loosen and mash the center of each bulb with the butter. Season with salt and pepper and softened garlic bulbs. Serve the celeriac hot as a side dish that everyone can share.

Celeriac, Roast Garlic and Potato Soup

Ingredients

salt to taste
1/2 cup milk
1 head garlic
2 cups vegetable stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 teaspoons ground fennel
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 kg (2 pounds) celeriac, peeled
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
crusty bread to serve (optional)
300 g (175 g) desiree potato (or similar, peeled and cut into cubes

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C (390 degrees F). Cut half the celeriac into thin slices and toss with 1 teaspoon of fennel, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of coriander. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread over an oven tray lined with baking paper. Cut off the top of the garlic head to expose the cloves. Then, drizzle the head with olive oil and wrap in foil, and place on the oven tray. Place the tray in the preheated the oven and roast for 15-20 minutes. Flip the celeriac slices over and roast for an additional 10–15 minutes until golden. Make sure the garlic is soft. Turn off the oven, unwrap the garlic from the foil and allow to cool briefly. Meanwhile, slice the rest of the celeriac into cubes. Place a Dutch oven or deep saucepan on the stove over moderate heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil, and when hot the celeriac, onion, thyme, potato and a pinch of salt. Fry for 5–7 minutes or until the vegetables start to soften. Add 1 teaspoon of coriander and 2 teaspoons of fennel and fry, while stirring, for about 1-2 minutes. Pour in the stock and bring the mixture to the boil. Cover the pot, lower the heat and simmer steadily for 14–17 minutes until the potato soften. Remove the pot from the heat. Squeeze the garlic cloves from their skins and add to the soup. Add the milk and puree the mixer, using a stick blender until smooth. Alternatively pulse in a blender or food processor. Season to taste. Place a serving of roasted celeriac in the centre of the serving bowls, pour over the soup and sprinkle extra thyme leaves on top. Serve hot.

Roast Beef with Celeriac Mash and Mushrooms

Ingredients

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup red wine
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups beef stock
squeeze of lemon juice
3 medium potatoes, peeled
1 kg (2 pounds) beef fillet
1 tablespoon tarragon leaves
1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
2 medium celeriac, trimmed and peeled
100 g (4 oz) small button mushrooms, halved
100 g (4 oz) Swiss brown mushrooms (or similar), sliced

Method

Preheat your oven to 180 C (350 degrees F). Heat a deep oven proof frying pan or Dutch oven over high heat. Rub the beef pieces with salt and freshly ground pepper and brown well on all sides in the hot pan. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes. Next, cut the potato and celeriac into cubes and transfer to a small saucepan. Cover with water, add the lemon juice and bring to boil, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the potato and celeriac are both tender. Drain off the water, and heat over low heat until any residual water has evaporated. Mash well with a little butter and some milk, until very smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm over very low heat. Next, remove the beef from pan, cover with foil and set aside to rest for 5-7 minutes. Add the rest of the butter to frying pan and heat over high heat. Fry the mushrooms for about 3 minutes, until golden. Remove the mushrooms from pan. De-glaze the pan juices using the wine and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Add the stock and mustard, reduce the heat to moderate and simmer for 5 minutes, until the sauce reduces by about half. Return the mushrooms to pan. Add the tarragon and simmer for 1 minute.

To serve, add a generous spoonful of the celeriac mash to the center of each serving plate. Top with some sliced beef. Spoon over a serving of the mushroom sauce.

Nutrients in 100 g Serving of Celeriac

Nutrients per 100 g serve	Nutrient Value
Energy	42 Cal
Carbohydrates	9.20 g
Protein	1.5 g
Total Fat	0.30 g
Cholesterol	0 mg
Dietary Fiber	1.8 g
Vitamins
Folates	8 mcg
Niacin	0.700 mg
Pantothenic acid	0.352 mg
Pyridoxine	0.165 mg
Riboflavin	0.060 mg
Thiamin	0.050 mg
Vitamin A	0 IU
Vitamin C	8 mg
Vitamin E	0.36 mg
Vitamin K	41 mcg
Electrolytes
Sodium	100 mg
Potassium	300 mg
Minerals
Calcium	43 mg
Copper	0.070 mg
Iron	0.70 mg
Magnesium	20 mg
Manganese	0.158 mg
Phosphorus	115 mg
Zinc	0.33 mg
Phyto-nutrients
Carotene-ß	0 mcg
Crypto-xanthin-ß	0 mcg
Lutein-zeaxanthin	1 mcg