It may look like a giant wart, but once you get past the knobbly exterior you are greeted by a deliciously-perfumed flesh. Celeriac, often called the vegetable world’s ugly duckling, is a fragrant root vegetable that tastes like celery minus the fibrous texture. To me, it is actually much tastier than celery due to its amazing ability to absorb flavors. Everything you throw in the pot together with this vegetable ends up in the final bite.
There are many things you can do with celeriac: The French classic celerie remoulade, a hearty soup or a braised celeriac dish, to name a few. The recipe I am going to share is an adaptation of a classic Turkish dish.
The traditional recipe calls for lemon juice to add acidity (which also prevents discoloration), but I like to add the whole lemon. That way, the aromatic zest is completely absorbed by the celeriac. In addition to lemon, orange and/or tangerine adds a sweet touch. I also like to add either a quince or a green apple to cheer it up. Feel free to experiment and enjoy!
Celeriac with Green Apple and Orange
Ingredients
- 2 medium-sized celeriacs
- 1 Granny Smith apple
- 1 orange
- 1 lemon
- 1 large carrot
- 5 garlic cloves
- 3 cups of water
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Method
- Wash, peel and cut celeriacs, carrot and apple into large pieces and toss with the juice of half a lemon in a large pot.
- Slice the other half of the lemon, the orange and add to the pot together with garlic, sugar, salt, olive oil and water.
- Cover and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium low and cook covered for 30-45 minutes. It is done when the carrot pieces are tender.
- Take off heat and let cool to room temperature.
- Remove the lemon and orange slices and transfer to your serving platter. Serve at room temperature or cold.
I also prefer celeriac to celery. In Poland we use it a lot in soups and salads. In fact, we almost never use celery here.
Great minds think alike. I posted a recipe on my blog for celeriac fritters the other day – just a little out of the usual mash, gratins, etc type of recipe. But your recipe takes that a whole leap further! What an amazing combo…
This sounds and looks wonderful! The use of citrus and apple sound like a great combination for the celeriac.
Root vegetables are under-used here in the states and deserve more attention. I’m going to try your recipe – thanks for sharing!
The beauty and simplicity of this dish are inviting.
That looks very cool! Ive never heard of Celeriac but it sounds good.
My grandmother and mother used to make this dish often when we were living in Istanbul. Although I wasn’t too crazy about this dish back then, seeing your post made me homesick and nostalgic. I like it better with quince. ps: my mom still makes it with potatoes. I love your recipes, keep up the good work.
Hi, this looks so good! Can you tell me what you usually serve it with? Does it go over rice or bulgur? A soup to start the meal or more of a side? Thanks! Anne Marie
Anne Marie – This is one of those olive oil dishes Turkish households serve right before the main course. It is more of a side dish. Hope you like it.
i have never even seen this at my market, i will keep a lookout now though
I love your recipe. Celeriac is something I often buy at the farmers market to make fresh grated salad, and have been looking for new recipes to us it in. I am also thinking of posting a recipe for cream of celeriac (like mashed potatoes but made with this wonderful vegetable!)
a favorite flavor combination in this dish, for sure. did as erika (sweet pea blog) mentioned, about mashing the celeraic. whipped it, rather than mash it, after cooking, with the carrot, apple, a few of the oranges, and added a measure of tahini. incredible. thank you.
My absolute favorite vegetable is celeriac.Thanks for this recipe.Erica,(sweet pea blog)please post your cream of celeriac recipe.I’ll be a loyal reader of this site from now on…
In China, we like to eat it fresh, that way you can simply take the fresh flavor. Here is how I cook it:
Wash, peel and cut celeriacs into very thin pieces, add salt, and a little bit Sesame, mix well and top wit a few cilantro leaves. Done.
Sorry, I mean sesame oil, not sesame.
One of my absolute go to’s at any Turkish restaurant (along with garlicy yogurtli carrots, fried liver and poached Ayva mmmmm) Can’t believe my luck in finding you!
tastes like artichoke hearts when done this way.